The Beginning of Never
by Dena Elise Andromeda Delacore
Summary: Condemned from birth, chosen from blood, and hated all around..Her name's Dena & this is her story; Full witch, cursed with powers even she doesn't realize, watch as she figures it all out, with the help of some unexpected people and friends; M for lang.
1. An Evil Family

The Evil Family

"Ouch!" I yelled as another foot with a cleat hit my arm.

"Oh did that hurt bitch?" yelled Jon. Jon is a big, built dude with no brain; he thinks that two plus two equals thirteen or something. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He is 6'2", and he is also part of the football team, who is beating the living tar out of me right now. They live to beat me up if **he** is not at school. Where is Alice when I need her the most? I should explain: Alice is my best friend; we've known each other since Kindergarten and I wouldn't have it any other way. And the hard thing about is that not only do her and my family have problems but, my family teaches me how to fight and I choose not to…It would be giving them what they want.

"Hey, Jon get off of her," said one of his other teammates.

"Why?" asked Jon. As if the question had an answer already.

"Oh shit, Alice is coming dude!" He yelled back.

"She is early today, Dena. You are very lucky." said Jon.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing? Get off of her now!" said Alice as she ran to my aid. Alice is very kind but people think just because she is emo that she is a freak like me. She is very smart and is about 5'4" of tough and mean skin if you hurt her friends. Add to the kind nature, but vengeful attitude towards people who cross her or her friends, Alice has the most piercing and hypnotic green eyes I've ever seen. Plus, her long black hair seems endless, and when in the sun, her blood red streaks look as if she painted her hair with real blood. Sometimes, I almost gag…Almost.

"We were just having some fun. Right Dena?" asked Jon.

"Is that what you call _fun_? Beating me up every day before and after school! Oh yea that is soo much fun Jon!" I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Jon and his friends really looked at me like I just told them that the WWE was not real…Which it's really not.

"Well if you put it that way yes we do, freak." said Jon.

"She is not a freak, Jon. You really need to stop this." Alice said as she helped me to my feet. Thank the gods that Alice is my friend and not one the people that hate my guts. Alice and I have been friends since Kindergarten. She's been emo since middle when something happened to her. She still won't tell me what. When I look at her, I feel like we're polar opposites. I have very pale white skin, very bright blue eyes, wear gothic clothes, and combat boots. I've dressed this way since my parents went "on the road," as they called it. I live with my old brothers and sister. Between Alice and I, we think that they want to kill me or something.

**~3_3~**

After more yelling between Alice and Jon, Alice and I head to my house. After two stop signs and a gravel drive way, we were at my house. It is an old house built in the 1700s. To the people of this town, it is a scary place, although I wonder if they are more scared of my brothers and sister than the actual house. Just then, my idiot older brother decides to come out of his bordello of doom…

"Hi, little sister! Who was that? Alice?" asked James. Oh great just to add to my pain a headache to match.

"Yes, that was Alice. And no, she is not staying for dinner or sleeping over, James. After what happened last week, might I add, she is not sleeping over ever again." I said as mad as I can get right then. See the last time Alice stayed over, well let's just say that she believes in ghosts now.

"Dena, you know me too well. So what are you cooking for us tonight?" he asks.

"Nothing! Look at me! I just got beat up by Jon and his goons again because **he** was not in school today!" I yelled at him.

"Oh. Dena, my loving baby sister I'm so sorry. Please forgive me I didn't know that **he **was not there today," said James.

The mysterious **he** is Jair. Jair is the captain of the football team and he has brown hair and the richest hazel eyes ever. I have had a "thing", as my sister says, for him since 5th grade…that is when my power came. I don't know why but I feel like we should be together it is so freaky.

"Dena you are home!" yelled my sister, Coralline from the top of the house cleaning the roof. I don't really know why she does that.

Coralline, along with my other brother, Mark has blond hair. I don't know how that is because both my mom and dad have black and brown hair. Coralline doesn't like me. I think she is the one who told Jon about **him** not being at school today.

"Look," I say to James, "tell Mark that I'll be working late tonight. The hospital is short on staff so they are calling me and two others in to help," I said. See, I work part time at the local hospital, St. John's. I get money but my brothers and sister take it from me once I get inside the house.

"Do you need the car?" said a deep sad voice.

"What the hell, Mark?" I yelled as I jumped back like 4 feet.

"Sorry, Dena. But do you need the car or not?" said Mark. Mark has sad eyes and a very sad voice.

"Yes. Thank you." I said. I have had my license since I'm sixteen. I go over to the car and begin to leave, but as I back out of the driveway, James comes running out of the house. "What is it James?" I asked.

"You also forgot this," he says, holding a pill jar.

"I don't need that. I have not needed one of those things since 7th after I learned how to keep my powers in order," I said.

"Ok, do not get into trouble," my brother retorts before going back inside.

"Ok, I won't," I said. See, the pills keep my power in my control, thankfully. When I arrive at the hospital, I'm glad it's on time. Thank the gods, because if I was late again they were going to kill me. I begin my rounds like normal and after I finish one of the older guests who is to walk in but Jair. "Mmmmm… Do you know where Ms. Jones room is?" he asked the nurse at the front desk.

"Room 214. There should be someone in there." said the nurse.

"Ok. Thank you." He said. My job was done so I walked out of the room. The door closed behind me. I stopped by the nurse's office to get my pay check for that week; after that I walked down the hall to the parking lot. When I got to my car Jair came out through the door.

"Hey are you on the clock?" He asked in a pained voice as if he had run after me.

"No, but what is it?" I said as I turned around.

"Wait, you work _here_?" he asked.

"Yes so what? Is there a problem?" I asked.

"It is my grandma. She is not moving!" he yelled at me.

"OK, I'm coming!" I yelled as I run up to the room. When I got there she was ok.

"She looks fine to me," I said.

"Are you the young woman who has been taking care of me?" she asked.

"Yes. Is there anything you need, miss? Your grandson came and got me saying that you were not moving. Are you ok?" I asked.

"Yes I am. Thank you so much for helping me. What is your name?" she asked.

"Dena. Dena Delacore." I said. She looked between me and Jair.

"She is the one" she said.

"What? What is the world are you talking about?" I said.

"I have been dead for a day now and they don't know. You and my grandson are the only people that can see. So you both have the power." She said.

"Dena why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"Tell you what? That I have the same power, or even more than, your family and mine put together. Why? Because your "friends" would beat me up even more than they already do." I said. That was first time I said that to him. With that I ran out the door to my car and went home. I had a very bad dream that night about Jair being killed by my older brothers and sister. It was not till later that I know it was the future that I was seeing.

"Hi, Dena! What's up?" asked Alice as she walked up to me.

"Nothing much. Did you do Mr. B's project yet? That is due this week?" I asked. I still had last night event still in my head. I hardly got any sleep the night before. The look he gave me almost made me want to cry.

"No, and that is due this week?" asked Alice.

"Yes, he said that last Friday, Alice. Come on did you go to sleep in his class again?" I asked as we walked up the steps to the school.

"No! Maybe….yes! Stop with the questioning, Dena. BTW how is the job coming down at the hospital?" asked Alice.

"Fine!" I said but I think I sounded mad when I said it, because she backed up.

"Ok, no need to eat me for asking." She said.

"Sorry I had a bad day yesterday things went from bad to very bad. I had taken care of **his** grandma last night. She says she is dead but I know the difference," I said as we entered the school. Just as I walked inside something hit me the back of my head. I looked down and there was a note in a form of a paper ball. I opened it up a few minutes later beside my locker.

It said:

_Things are going to different from now on. I told you to stay away from __**him**__ but you did not listen to me! I have power that you do not even know, dear sister. _

_Love,_

_James, Mark, and Coralline_

After I read the note Jair came by my locker. "Dena we need to talk now!" he said.

"What is up with this damn note that you put in my locker. Just because I scared you last night that doesn't give you the right…." His voice started to go off in a different place.

"What did it say?" I asked.

"Here!" he said as he walked out of the hall. It said:

_Dear Jair,_

_I know that things have been rocky between you and me but you are going to die. I don't about last night or any of the time we spent together. I have other things to do so tell your friends to stop beating me up every day. Oh I almost forget I challenge you to a power fight._

_ Your Friend, Dena_

I would never say nothing like this! I think it was one of my brothers or my sister that did this note. I hate how they can do this to me. More than that I have to tell Jair the truth about this note.

"Help! Help me someone!" yelled Jair. I look around and realize that sometime during my realization of who wrote the note, and my thoughts after, that Jair had disappeared. I curse under my breath.

"I'm coming!" I yelled back. When I got to Jair he had blood from head to toe. Someone attacked him! Someone that wanted him died.

"Hang on, Jair. I can help you." I said.

"Dena I know now that it was not you that wrote that note. It was a dude named James." he said as I started to heal him with my power.

"This is your power? It is really handy that you have this. You can heal anyone that you want to," he said as blood came out of his mouth. This is starting to get worse by the minute.

"Yea, but it takes more power then you know. Wizards like you have less power than me. I cannot heal myself, though, which is the only downfall," I said as the healing stopped and he was sitting on the floor. Today was going to go downhill I just know it.

"Look I have to go. This has my brothers and sister written all over it. James, the one that attracted you, he is my older brother. I'm so sorry that he did this to you, Jair." I said as I got up and started walking down the hallway. Sometimes I wish that I was the only kid, but that is what I get for having evil, powerful parents that hate me for being nice. My mom and dad have no nice bones in their bodies but I guess they had to have some because they loved James, Mark, and Coralline. They just hate me because I'm the nice part of them.

As I walk up the driveway to my house, having skipped school, a bright red car pulled up beside me I looked inside and saw….and saw….saw….

"Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?" I asked more to myself than my parents.

"James said that you have fallen in love with one of the wizards that was born to kill you, dear. If you did we will have to have a talk with that young man." said my mom.

"Yes that is right. Maybe we could have him for dinner," said my dad as he parked the car.

Great Ray and Sue are going to kill the boy that is going to save me from them! This is just peachy! I have to get to of this before something happens. I have to find a way out of this and fast before them…

"Look who I found outside, Dena. Jair is here for the dinner party." Said James as he walked in holding Jair by his neck. His shirt still had blood on it from the fight at school. This is not how I pictured him at the house. James walked over to where I was at and dropped Jair at my feet.

"What, got nothing to say? I had to do it Dena or he would have taken you away from me. Away from us. We are your family you are a part of us." said James.

"I'm nothing like you! I would never hurt my sister's friends! Make the boys beat her up or anything that you guys do to me! I am the only one around that cares about the word family and you are not it!" I yelled as I picked Jair off the floor. The room was silent the only thing that you can hear is the breathing of the other people in the room.

"Are you ok? Did he hurt you again?" I asked has we headed for the door.

"No. I think I broke a rib or two other than that I'm fine." he said as we went out the back door to the forest. I have to get him away and fast! They would get over the yelling in a minute or two.

"Look I know a place where we can go and they do not know about but you have to believe in me ok?" I said as we began to run away from the house and my killer family inside it. I know that I wouldn't be able to come back here without being killed. I would have to keep running and don't look back. I know that I'm not going to see Alice again for a very long time. This is what I have to do to keep **him** safe from them.

"This is all my doing. I should have known that this would happen if I got to know you, Dena." said Jair before he fell asleep. It took about a good hour before we got to the hiding place of mine. A few hours later I hear him moving around and getting up.

"You are awake. That is great! I thought that I didn't get to you in time." I said as Jair walked into the next room.

"Is this the place you were telling me about before I was out of it?"

"Yes. I used to come here when my family tried to get me to do something that I did not want to do. This is my home away from home." I said.

"So this is where you go when they did their magic? I had to go away from my mom and dad too. They said that your family was evil but you are not like them are you?" he said as I cooked some food on the oven in the small rundown kitchen. This is how we are going to live for now.

"Yes and I didn't go away from them I taught myself what to do. No I'm not like them at all. If your mom and dad thought that from even a minute they are so wrong." I said. Ok so maybe I was in bad mood or something. Then there was a knock at the door. I went to go answer it then stopped.

"Run! Now! They are here and they are mad!" I yelled as we ran to the back door.

"What how did they find us so fast?" Jair asked.

"I think that they used the tracking spell with black magic. That is the only way they could have found this place." I said as we ran through the woods to the road. This is soo not what I planned to happen this year of school. I really hate doing this but it is the only to keep Jair save.

As we ran through the woods something came at us and we had to hit the ground. Lucky for us it was not a tracking one. This is going to be a big battle for us.

"Keep on running I'll take care of them." I said as one tried to hit me in the back.

"No I'm not go anywhere without you! I love you too much!" Jair yelled as I pushed him to the ground.

"Dena you have been a very bad girl. You need to be in timeout for good." yelled James somewhere in the woods but he sounded too close to us for me to feel safe.

"Look, I have seen James kill people it is not a very good place to be. If you don't go now, you will die right here! I love you too, but if you die…all our hard work getting here would be down the tube! I can take James and the rest. It is my mom and dad that will kill you. They don't care about life not one bit!" I said as we got up to our feet.

"Ok I'll go, but you have to be here than I get back with help." Jair said as he started to run away from the house.

Ok so the fight was short. I had more power than they had. I could not kill them because they are my family, evil but still my family. After one spell they were going to be out for a while. I had to find Jair and fast. My mom and dad were still out here somewhere.

I found Jair out cold on the ground about to be killed by my mom who had a knife that was really, really big to me. It was a machete with a long handle.

"Stop it now!" I yelled. Time stopped in mid- kill. I had to get the machete away from my mom and make both of them go to sleep. As I did this Jair, started to wake up and he looked at me. I think he didn't know that I had this much magic in me. He got up and started to the road. I put my parents in stone so they couldn't follow or hurt my friends; I did the same with my older brothers and sister.

**~3_3~**

It has been a five years now and I'm living with Jair and his family till I can find a place away from here and take Jair with me. I had a dream last night; it was about a girl who lived in Bunn, North Carolina. I think we are heading there next to find more witches and wizards like us. I have no home to go back to. I burned down the house with everything in it, except a spell book that was given to me by my family before they did this to me.

If only time were not going by so slow. Jair left a few minutes ago with his parents to go shopping. Such a human and simple thing to do, but for people like us…It was a risk we took each day. I miss my friend, Alice, and wonder whatever became of her. Did she graduate? Is she in college? Is she happy finally? I ponder these thoughts until Jair returns. After that, we work on some more spells until neither of us can stand upright. We go to bed afterwards and sleep until the morning.

I still have my night terrors, but I've learned to control them somewhat. I don't wake up screaming anymore…I just gasp and wake up in a cold sweat. If only Alice were here, so I could talk to her about these dreams. I've often thought about calling her, or emailing her, but at the last minute, I chicken out. Oh, how I wish I could just see her once more. I hope she is all right…


	2. The Darkest Light of Midnight

**Hiya, It's **xXxhurting-insidexXx **& I'm writing Chapter Two of **The Beginning of Never **and I Hope You like This Story! Let's Begin Shall We? **

**Chapter 2 – The Darkest Light of Midnight**

**Alice**

After I walked from Dena's house to my own, a feeling of dread washed over me. I said hello to my family, which none of them cared to hear, along with the girl they have sitting with them, and walked up the stairs to my bedroom. Once there, I toss my books onto my bed and grab my laptop from my desk, logging on. I begin typing on my online diary and the sound of voices rising from downstairs makes me sigh. _Not again_, I think and plug in my headphones to try and block out the yelling.

After a few minutes, everything seems all right, and I chance taking out my headphones. Everything is deathly silent, which makes my heart race slightly. I take my headphones out completely and put my laptop on the bed beside me. I stand up and creep my way, silently, to the door. I open it with shaking hands, the feeling of dread growing.

"Mom? Dad?" I call out, but hear no answer. I take a deep breath and swallow harshly. I grab my crowbar from behind my door and open the door the rest of the way. I take a step out into the hallway and look around before taking another step towards the staircase. "Mom?" I call out again, and I hear what sounds like shuffling of feet from downstairs. "Mom?" I try again, but there is no answer.

When I make my way down the stairs I almost drop the crowbar in my hands. There, lying in a pool of blood, is the girl from earlier. I rush over to her, dropping the crowbar. I feel her neck for a pulse and find that there isn't one. I see something and, when I turn her head to the side, I see two puncture wounds. With shaking hands, I turn her head to the other side and find two more. With shaky breaths, I sit up straighter and look around slowly, fear pulsing through me.

I glance back at the dead girl before taking the crowbar in my hands, holding it somewhat steady. I see the disarray of the living room and see blood spatters on the wall. I stand up, my legs feeling like limp noodles, and make my way to the kitchen. When I get there, I hear the front door open. Gasping, I crouch down behind a small wall and listen as three pairs of footsteps echo.

"Shane," I hear my father's voice call out and I take a chance at peering over the countertop. I see my older brother Shane laying a black tarp onto the floor. My mother helps him roll the dead girl onto the tarp and close it, sealing it with rope.

I look closely at my family and see all of them are paler then usual and all of them have blood on them. But what is most scary is the fact that they all have a pair of perfectly white fangs. I try to calm my heart, and place a hand over my mouth.

Suddenly, my mother's head darts up and she sniffs deeply.

"Charles, do you smell that?" She asks and he looks at her.

"What is it, Josephine?" My father's deep, curt voice rings out, a hint of annoyance and irritation in it.

"I smell your daughter," she replies to him and looks around, almost inhaling my scent.

"How? She is in her room, is she not?" He answers her, and then all three of them look up to where my room is, and where I'm supposed to be.

"Forget her for one moment," Shane hisses to them. "We need to get rid of the body!" My mother and father glance at each other before nodding at Shane and carrying the body out of the house. I hear the door close behind them and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Oh my God," I whisper and feel tears fall from my eyes. "My family's a bunch of freaking vampires!" And then, like a light switch, I gasp and run up to my room. There my laptop still sits and I go to my search engine, typing furiously.

Before long, I find the link I need and stare at my computer screen blankly, the realization still not yet hitting me. I eventually hear the sound of the front door opening and closing and not long afterwards, my mother coming in to 'check on me.'

"Alice?" She calls out, opening the door and I look up from the screen to look at her, trying not to wince. "We're home," she says and I nod, looking back down. I hear her sigh angrily and she slams my door. I look up to where she just was and back down again, noticing how shaky my hands are.

I wait until I hear them go to bed to lock my door. Once I do that, I lie awake all night, terrified for a different reason to not sleep. And for once, I almost wish for the demons of my dreams to take me. Better than having real demons in the room next door…

**~3_3~**

When the first rays of dawn finally shown through my window, I felt a wave of relief rush through me. But then I remembered that my family can go out in daylight, and the fear of last night washes through me once more. I get up quietly and grab some clothes from my closet, heading to the bathroom to take a shower.

Once I finish that, I grab my school stuff and a fruit bar, heading downstairs. When I go to open the door, however, a voice calls out.

"Where are you headed so early, _Alice_?" My father sneers and I gasp, turning around sharply. I look at him and see that the paleness of last night is gone, along with the eyes and fangs.

"I-I'm going to school," I tell him and try not to wince as he steps closer to me. When he is standing in front of me, I subconsciously close my eyes and turn my head to the side. This time, however, I hear the faint sound of an intake of breath. And this time, I know why. I take a peek at him and he's no longer looking at my face, but instead at my neck. I resist the urge to cover it up, and decide to turn my head so I'm looking at him. His eyes meet mine once more and I see a forbidden glimmer of something darker in his blue depths.

"Go," he almost growls and I don't think I've ever made it out the front door faster.

I walk the three miles to school like I usually do, and when I get there, I'm the first to arrive. I sit on the benches outside the main doors and wait until I can go inside.

When I get to my first period, I'm glad for the distraction. Of course, when I get to Mr. B's class, I fall asleep. And when the bell rings, I feel the unshed tears in my eyes at the dream.

At the end of 5th period, I went in search of Dena and found her walking to 6th, bags under her eyes.

"Hi, Dena! What's up?" I asked her as I walk up to her.

"Nothing much. Did you do Mr. B's project yet? That is due this week?" She asks and I give her a confused look.

"No, and that is due this week?" I ask, mentally cursing myself.

"Yes, he said that last Friday, Alice. Come on did you go to sleep in his class again?" She asked as we walk up the steps.

"No! Maybe….yes! Stop with the questioning, Dena. BTW how is the job coming down at the hospital?" I ask her, not wanting to remember why I had fallen asleep.

"Fine!" She says a little sharply and I back up a little bit.

"Ok, no need to eat me for asking," I tell her, only half-joking.

"Sorry I had a bad day yesterday; things went from bad to very bad. I had taken care of **his** grandma last night. She says she is dead but I know the difference," she says and I nod. We go our separate ways, but that sense of dread from yesterday comes back to me.

I try to focus during 6th, but it doesn't happen, and when the bell rings, I feel a change in the atmosphere of the school. I see Jon and his 'friends' standing around talking and I faintly wonder why they're not beating Dena up. Not that I would want them too, it's just weird not seeing them do it.

"Hey, freak!" I hear one of them call and I ignore them. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" I hear him yell after me. I pick up my pace but because they're guys, they catch up to me. One grabs my arm and pulls me back. I gasp and slap him across the face. He is shocked into letting me go and I use the opportunity to run away.

I don't stop until I reach my house, but even then, I run up to my room, throwing the lock until it snicks. I grab my desk chair and hold it under the door knob so if anyone tried to get in, they couldn't. Looking around my room, I see it's in perfect order; I take a shaky breath and run a hand through my long hair. To distract myself, I decide to finish my homework.

Around 5:30, I hear my parents and brother come home. But, I hear another voice with them and a shudder runs through me. After an hour, things seem to be going all right, but then I hear it: the sounds of a voice becoming frantic, then voices yelling, things falling and crashing, and finally…Silence. My hands hurt and I look down, seeing the death grip I have on my book. I release it, tossing it aside; I also release the breath I didn't know I was holding.

A knock at the door makes me gasp.

"Wh-Who's there?" I ask and curse myself for sounding scared.

"What do you mean by 'who's there?' Who else would be here?" I hear my mother's exasperated voice on the other side of the door and I sigh. But, before I get up, I open my drawer carefully and quietly, pulling out a wooden pencil for safety precautions. I open my door, holding it halfway closed just in case.

"Yes?" I ask her, and she gives me a weird look.

"Is your homework finished?" She asks and I shake my head. "Humph, finish it and then come downstairs," she says and turns away to head downstairs. I close the door behind her and snick the lock once more. I'm leaning against my door when something makes me look up. When I do, I see something at my window. Going over to it slowly, I look out and see in the distance, smoke and fire billowing out from the trees.

"Dena," I whisper, gasping. Throwing all caution to the wind, I open my window and climb out of it to the tree, climbing down the tree and taking off into the woods. The whole while praying to whatever God there is that Dena is all right.

As I near her house, the smell of smoke grows, making the air feel thick and claustrophobic. When I break through the trees, I scream. Smoke and fire is engulfing her house.

"_Dena!_" I screech, running over to the burning house. I find a window that is not yet consumed with flames, and crawl into it, desperate to find her. She has to be her, she can't be dead…"_Dena!_" I cry out once more, and cough as smoke fills my throat and lungs. I search through the house, the flames and smoke making my eyes water and my throat hurt.

I try to go up the stairs but every other step is burning and before I can reach the top, they collapse. I let out a bloodcurdling scream as I fall into a hole. When I hit the floor, my whole body erupts into pain. I try to roll over, but my leg burns in pain. I look up bleary-eyed when I hear a creaking and my eyes go wide when I see burning wood and walling coming towards me. I scream as loudly as I can, hoping my parents hear me, as it hits me. I try to get it off me, but the fire torches my clothes and body.

Before I pass out from the pain, I hear voices calling to me. I moan something out, and then three figures are picking me up gently, carrying me out of the house. They ask me something but I don't hear them, my heavy eyes drawn to a pale figure running into the forest.

"Dena," I whisper hoarsely, before my world fades to black.

**~3_3~**

When I come to, I feel like my body is still burning. Everywhere hurts and when I open my eyes, everything is blurry. I try to move my neck, I wince, but that only sends my body into pain frenzy. Tears pool in my eyes as a soft whimper escapes my lips. Suddenly, two bodies materialize next to me. I let out a shocked and scared cry that makes my throat hurt more.

Just then, the door opens and a nurse walks in to check on me. She says something to the two other bodies and does something to the machines next to me. After a few minutes, the pain slowly dissipates and goes away, making it easier to breathe. I blink away the blurriness and see the faces of my mother and father.

"Hey," my mother says softly whilst cradling one of my hands gently in hers.

"H-how," I croak out softly, "…How long have I been here?" I look at their faces, the same faces I've known my whole life but have never noticed how ageless they seemed.

"Almost a month," my father says, his voice making me look at him. I feel my eyes go wide and my jaw drops. He nods and smiles dryly. "Yes, it has been that long, Alice. Now, would you care to explain what you were doing in that house?" I immediately close both my eyes and mouth, looking at the ceiling. I feel the prickle of tears behind my eyes as that night floods through my mind.

"Honey?" I hear my mother's voice call out softly. Strange how, with my eyes closed, it almost sounds like she cares…

"It…It was my friend's house," I whisper to them, opening my eyes and feeling the tears fall down the side of my face. "I thought…I thought she was in there, so I went inside. I couldn't let her die…" my voice breaks at the end and my body is overcome with silent sobs. My mother comes over to me, hugging me gently.

"It's all right, sweetie," my mother whispers to me, but no longer do such petty words comfort me. I know, deep in my heart, that my best friend and sister, my Dena…Is dead.

**~3_3~**

It's been three months since the fire. Today I finally get to come home. I sigh, sitting up in the bed to get dressed. I look at the scars that are littered across my body and feel tears behind my eyes threaten to fall. I sniffle, blinking them away, refusing to let them overcome me again.

Once I'm dressed, I wait until the nurse comes in to let me leave. She gives me a once-over and tells me I'm free to go and that my parents are waiting for me downstairs. I smile at her and get off the bed, making my way down the hallway. I notice, however, that when I pass by smiling children, they stop and stare at me. I resist the urge to grimace and cower back.

I didn't realize until a couple weeks ago, when they took the bandages off, that my hair was burned in the fire, so they'd had to cut it. My hair is now a choppy mess. Long gone are my cascading black and red locks, replaced by a choppy and messed up pixie cut. My face has burns on it as well, adding to my scariness.

I wait until I'm around a corner, with no one in sight, to break down. I lean against the wall, my mouth hanging open as I breath in tiny gasps, tears falling from my eyes. I slide down the wall, my legs curling up beside me as I cry. The nurse from my room walks by and she gives me a sympathetic look before finding a hoodie to give me. I look at her gratefully and she wipes away a stray tear.

"You are beautiful," she whispers to me and my lower lip quivers.

"Thank you," I whisper to her and she nods before patting my cheek gently. I make my way to the elevator, keeping my head down when I pass by kids, and press the button for the bottom floor. I say goodbye to the nurses and the secretaries and look up into the eyes of my brother and parents as I leave the doors. Shane comes up to me and picks me up in a twirl hug; I gasp at the gesture, but thankfully he thinks it's because of the soreness.

"Sorry," he says smiling softly, "I just missed you." I give him a sad smile in return, knowing that whatever affection he has for me is only surface affection.

We make our way to the car, Shane carrying my small bag over his shoulder, his other arm draping across my shoulders. I don't realize until we get home how bad things are.

When we pull up to the house, and I get inside, my mother and father turn on me.

"How _dare _you go and try to rescue _her_?" My mother hisses at me. I balk at her vicious tone and land into a hard chest. I look up into the angry eyes of my father. He grips my shoulders and pushes me away from him.

"That was probably the stupidest thing you could have ever done, _Alice_," my father sneers my name once more and I wince.

"Come on, just let it be for today. She just got home," my brother, Shane, says on my behalf. I shoot him a thankful smile and he returns it with a nod.

"Oh, shut up, Shane!" My mother and father growl at the same time. Shane's jaw clenches and he looks down. I look back at my parents, and see a different air about them, a dangerous air. They turn their glares at me and I back up a step.

"Poor little, Dena," my mother hisses in mocking, taking some steps towards me. "A lonely witch who's hated by her family and whose only friend is a spoiled little_brat!_" This time when she hisses, I feel her breath on my face. I swallow harshly, my heart beginning to race.

"You could have finished us with that little stunt you pulled," growls my father from behind me. I gasp and turn to face him, my breath coming in short gasps.

"That's enough," Shane says, taking my arm and pulling me closer to him. "Can't you see that you're scaring her?" He cradles my head to his chest and I notice that my whole body is trembling.

"Dammit, Shane!" Yells my mother and I jump. "Get the hell away from her, now. You've got no say in this, whatsoever!" I look up at Shane and see that he is standing his ground. Shane glances down at me and flashes me a sad smile.

"I love you, Alice," he says to me, kissing my forehead. "Now, go up to you room; can you do that for me?" I nod mutely and he rubs my shoulders comfortingly. I go to walk around my mother and to the stairs when a hand snakes out, grabbing my wrist.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you don't decide when she gets to leave, _I DO!_" Screeches my father, who yanks me back against him. He holds my neck in one hand, holding my arms behind my back with the other.

"_Get off of her!_" Screeches Shane, and I watch as he hisses and lunges for our father. Quicker than I would have thought possible, Dad flings me to our mom as he meets Shane's lunge with his own. I land at my mother's feet and she wrenches me up, holding me tightly. I watch in horror as Shane and our father fight.

"Stop it!" I yell at them, but they don't hear me. My mother grips me harder and I watch in mixed pain and terror as they swirl around the room, nothing but blurs. And then, I hear it. I hear the sound of something breaking and when I open my eyes, I see Shane's mouth in an 'O,' a leg off the coffee table stuck inside him. Our father releases his hold on the makeshift stake and I look on as Shane falls to his knees, gasping for breath. He looks up at me and I try to break free of mother's grasp. She lets me go and I run to Shane.

"Shane!" I yell, tears falling from my eyes. "Shane, look at me! Shane, you can't die on me! Please, don't die, _please_!" I cry as he falls to his side. I hold his face in my hands as he looks at me. "I love you, brother," I whisper to him sadly and his eyes shine with the love I now realize he always had for me. His eyes stay on my face until his hand falls from my face, landing on the floor with a _thud_. His body turns a sickly grayish color, and I bend over his body, cradling his head in my hands as sobs erupt from my throat. I take a shaky breath and glare up at our mother and father. "You're both monsters!" I tell them and I see their eyes turn pitch black. My father comes over and yanks me up by what's left of my hair. I cry out, forced into standing. I hold his hand in both of mine, trying to get him to let go.

"Monster? You've not seen monster yet," he whispers harshly before biting down on my neck.. I cry out in pain, letting my arms drop to my sides. I feel my mother come and take my wrist in her hands, biting down. I gasp and I look for something I can grab. I see the fire poker leaning against the fireplace next to me and I reach for it. I manage to grasp it and, with shaking hands, I whack my mother against her head. She lets go of my wrist and my father does the same. Quickly, yet sluggishly, I whack him with it too, allowing me some room to escape.

I hear them coming after me and just barely make it to my room. I snick the lock on my door and look around for something I can use as a weapon. I find a random bottle of holy water under my bed and squirt my door with it. I unlock my door and squirt it into the faces of my mother and father. I close the door as I hear their cries of pain. I lock it once more and, with shaky hands, I make my way over to my chair. I smash it against the floor, which takes a couple tries due to my weakened state, and pick up my homemade stakes.

I go over to the door, and take a deep breath in order to make the world stop spinning. I hold my stakes in one hand whilst I unlock the door with my other. Quickly, I throw it open and look into the darkened hallway. I see the light from downstairs illuminating the steps. Taking another deep breath, I lean out of my door, looking around me. Seeing nothing, I make a break for the stairs. A leg materializes out of nowhere and trips me.

With a gasp, I fall down the stairs, miraculously not getting hurt. When I'm lying on the floor, my body hurting, I feel them approach me. Suddenly, as if my body is overrun, I swing around and flip into a standing position. I face the shocked faces of both my parents and look down at the stake in my hand.

My mother lunges for me and, easily despite my fear, I ram the stake through her stomach. She chokes out a gasp and I look her into the eyes. I watch her turn that gray color of death before letting go of the stake and backing up. I look up into the shocked eyes of my father and I see his lip quiver with a forbidden emotion.

His body is slowly enveloped with convulsions and shudders and I watch as his face morphs into something of legends and myths. His fangs protrude even further than before, and his ears now have points, as if he were an elf or a demon…Well, he is but still.

I watch as the rest of him changes and I look frantically around for my other stake. He lunges for me, his claws reaching out for me, and I duck. From my position on the floor, I swing my leg in a side kick, knocking him down. I gasp in shock and look at my leg. I sense the hand but I don't react quick enough, and my father's cold and clawed hand backhands me, sending me flying against the wall. I crash to the floor and look up hatefully at him. With a hiss of my own, I lunge for him.

Our dance continues for what feels like an eternity. At last, he knocks me down and when I land, I see my stake lying next to me. I roll over, grabbing it and holding it ready. He grabs me and when he turns me around, I shove the stake through his heart. I hear the sickening sound of something breaking and look at him.

Tears I didn't even know I would shed, fill my eyes. My father's face is back to its normal day-to-day look, but I see in his eyes the truth. When the color of death encases his body, and we both fall to the floor, I watch as the life drains from his eyes. I wait until I know he's dead to sit back on my heels.

I gaze out at the destroyed living room and look at the three bodies who now call it their grave. I see my brother, Shane, his eyes open and faintly turned to me. I crawl over to him gently, the irrational fear of waking them crossing my mind, and take his cold hand in mine. More tears fall as I think of how different things could have been…

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" I beg him in a sad whisper, stroking his face with the back of my other hand. "Why didn't you ever show me the love I know you had for me? Why couldn't you trust me with your secret?" I cry and close my eyes painfully.

**~3_3~**

Afterwards, I wrapped the bodies in a blanket and doused them with gasoline before lighting a match. I watch mutely as the fire spreads to all three bodies, the flames licking away at the dead flesh. I adjust the strap on my shoulder of the bag I have with me and bend down to pick up my other two bags, suitcases really.

I make my way to the door and glance back at them when I reach the door frame. The fire is now spreading throughout the living room and the walls, destroying the only home I had known. I sigh sadly and take another step, and hear glass breaking. Looking down, I see a picture of all of us from a few years ago. I bend down to pick it up, letting the shards of glass slide down to the floor. How normal we all seemed back then…

"No, Alice…Don't even go there," I whisper to myself, folding the picture up and sticking it in my bag before exiting the house. I go over to the car and load my bags in the trunk. The smell of smoke and fire and creaking wood sends chills down my spine. I get in the car and the fire seems alive, the colors swirling and dancing with each other. I pull out of the driveway and glance back only when the sound of sirens is heard. But, I don't stop driving; instead, I think of what I must do…Find Dena.

**~3_3~**

It's been a year now since I killed my mother and father. I'm now living in a small apartment meant for one person, working a shitty job for money, and am (what I hope to be) closer to finding Dena. Ever since what happened, I've done hours of research both on vampires and witches/warlocks. But, I also figure that if vampires and witches DO exist, why can't all the other creatures of the supernatural exist too? So, I've been hunting around on my laptop unusual killings and sightings. Most have been bogus, but a few have been real.

Logging onto my laptop, I open up the last site I was on. I scroll through, reading briefly. I sip my coffee, barely tasting it. A link catches my eye and I click on it. My eyes narrow at the title.

_Mysterious Animal Attacks Continue, Bodies Drained of Blood, Some Sort of New Gang?_

I read through the article and am surprised to find out that the town is only a few states away from me. I sigh, and place my computer on the bed beside me, grabbing my suitcases and piling my clothes in them once more.

When I finish packing, I go down to the front desk and sign out, bidding the woman farewell. She smiles at me and I almost wish I could stay…Almost.

I walk out to my car and start it up, the purr of the engine soothing me slightly. I turn on the radio and soon the lyrics of _Forsaken _is flowing through me, calming me further. I get on the interstate and look at the map I have, the edges worn from opening and closing it so many times. I have a 600 mile journey ahead of me. Luckily, along the way, there are some towns with some mysterious activity that I shall check out.

Sighing, I put a piece of hair behind my ear, feeling the rough surface of the scars on my face. A grimace forms on my face and I resist the urge to look in the mirror. As I continue driving, the songs of The Vampire Lestat fill my soul with a feeling I never would have thought possible: comfort. His words spoke to me on volumes I never imagined.

My hands tighten on the steering wheel as I think of one of the reasons why his lyrics mean something. Clenching my jaw, I speed up, looking out on the miles of stretching highway that lie ahead of me…

**~3_3~**

**(A/N: Otay, MAJOR Time Skip! Just Warning You…I Felt That To Describe A Whole YEAR Would Be Pushing It, So I'm Skipping To A Year Later…Don't Like It? Sue Me…)**

When I reach the state line of my new destination, almost a year later, I pull into the little welcoming center. I turn the car off, grimacing in pain at the wounds I had received only a few nights ago. I pull out the small calendar I keep in my car and mark off another day. It's been two years since I left home, two years since I killed my parents, two years since my brother was murdered, two years since Dena left, and two years since I've had any personal contact with humans.

As I climb out of my newly acquired car, I snort in irony. I close the door and lock the car, shaking my head. I don't refer to myself as a human anymore…I can't. Ever since that night…NO human could have moved as fast as I did, not even a martial artist. I sigh, pulling up my hood and opening the doors, letting the AC brush over my hooded body. I feel the chill to my toes and hear the rattling of paper as the cold air passes on its surface.

I glance at the paper and away but stop. A cold feeling washes in my stomach and I glance back at the papers. Plastered across every single one of them is me. I go over to it, swallowing harshly, and pick one up with shaking hands. I read the headlines with growing sadness.

_Search for dead girl at a loss…Police and FBI giving up search, declaring it a lost cause._

I read on in the article to find out that someone had seen my car driving away from the scene, with what looked like me in the car. They thought someone had kidnapped me and murdered my family. They believed I was dead after they found my car where I left it: off a cliff. I remember the accident, but remember that I wasn't in the car when it exploded. I had jumped out of it, leaving the vampire inside it to burn to his death.

My cold fingertips brush against the old picture of me. I close my eyes as I remember the old me, the almost carefree me, the compassionate me. She really was dead now. I don't smile anymore, and I barely eat or sleep. The only thing that matters is finding Dena. I know she's alive, I just can't find her. Sighing once again, I grab a few fruit bars and a drink and a few maps of the town I'm headed to before I make my way to the car.

I drive until I see the _Welcome to Mystic Falls _sign. I feel my eyes narrow slightly and I grip the steering wheel tighter. Mystic Falls has been having strange "animal" attacks for a few months now, but I know the truth, and I think some of the older people in town do as well. Pushing down on the gas once more, I continue to drive until reaching the small house I recently bought. I don't know how long I'm staying so it's best to be prepared.

After I unpack my few belongings, I decide to walk down the road to the police station and talk to the sheriff. When I find her, she looks up at me surprised.

Sheriff Forbes is a short, blonde haired woman who looks to be in her 40's. She has a daughter named Caroline who's my age, and her husband left her for another man. _Way to brush up on your hacking skills, _I think to myself.

"Hi, how may I help you?" She asks, shaking my hand. I nod at her and return the gesture. I sigh, taking off my sunglasses and hood, bringing my eyes and scarred face to meet hers. Her intake of breath is audible and I grimace.

"Well," I begin, "I think that _I _may be able to help _you_…" She gives me a look and I cock my head to the side.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

"Oh but I think you do," I tell her, leaning forward slightly. "Look, I'm not here to cause problems. I'm just looking for someone. But, I'm also here to help you with your vampire issue," I tell her, looking her directly in the eyes. She gasps and her eyes go wide before she gets up to close the door and lock it.

"How do you know about the vampires?" She asks and I give her a bitter and sad smile.

"A couple years ago, I walked into my house like normal. My parents were yelling downstairs like always so I just ignored it. After a little while I went downstairs and saw the dead body of a girl I had seen merely an hour ago, conversing with my parents. I went over to her and found two pairs of puncture wounds on her neck. She was drained of blood," I tell her, getting up and looking out the window.

"I didn't understand at first, but when I heard the front door opening, I ran and hid in the kitchen. I listened and watched as my brother and parents came into the living room and wrapped the girl in a tarp. They were so pale and had a pair of perfectly white fangs. After they left, I ran upstairs to my room again and looked up an article I had been reading but never knew why. It told about all the disappearances that had happened recently and I freaked. When my parents came home, I acted normal…But when my mother left and went back into her room, I locked the door behind her and saw out my own window smoke and fire. I knew it was my friend's house, and so I ran.

I couldn't just let her die, she was my best friend. Anyways, I get to the house, almost die trying to look for her, and spend three months in a hospital. When I finally went home, my parents turned on me, but my brother tried to help me…Which resulted in his death. I watched as my father drove a stake through my brother's heart, Sheriff Forbes," I tell her, looking at her with tears in my eyes. She has a crestfallen expression on her face as well and I sigh, continuing. "I went to him, realizing at last that he really did love me, unlike my parents. My father and mother fed off me," I tell her showing the scars, "and I managed to whack them upside the head with a fire poker.

"I ran to my room and found a bottle of holy water, just in case, and squirted my door with it, and then them. I eventually staked my mother with handmade stakes, and me and my father squared off in a fight to the death. I killed him, though, and burned the bodies. I ran away from my home two years ago, searching for my friend, and killing every vampire or werewolf in my path," I say.

Sheriff Forbes takes a few steps closer to me and squeezes my shoulder in comfort. I smile sadly back at her.

"So," I begin, "can I help?" She sighs before slowly nodding her head in approval. I give my thanks.

"How old are you?" She asks and I grimace.

"I just turned 18," I tell her. "Don't get all motherly on me about how dangerous this is, and how I could get hurt or worse turned. I know the risks, hell I've been doing this for two years now. Now, can you let go? I was in a pretty bad fight the other night and my shoulder isn't quite healed." She lets go of my shoulder and I roll it gently.

"What kind of fight?" She asks and I smirk at her before launching into the tale.

When I finish she looks impressed and I smirk again. We talk for a little while longer and she says she will enroll me as a permanent visitor for the school, meaning I will go there but I won't have to take any classes. I give my thanks once more and give her my cell number. She bids me goodbye and I leave, deciding to walk around some more. I'm walking down the sidewalk when something out of the corner of my eyes makes me look over. I'm still walking so I don't see him until I bump into him.

"Oops, I'm sorry," I say automatically, looking up. When I see his face and eyes, my heart skips a beat. _Damn, he's hot_…He smiles a mischievous smile and I swallow. A feeling of familiarity washes over me and I wonder who he looks like.

"Well, look what we have here. You're new to town I presume?" He asks, and I detect a faint accent. Immediately my defenses go up.

"I'm sure that that is not your concern, nor is it your business. Now, if you would be so kind as to step aside so that I might be able to pass by you…" I say, going to walk around him. He reaches out a hand and I switch to attack mode instantly. I crouch and swing my leg out, kicking his feet out from underneath him. He doesn't fall, but stumbles.

"Alice?" Sheriff Forbes calls out and I look at her, keeping the new guy in my periphery. "Is everything all right?" She gives me a concerned look and I motion to the guy who still has the smirk on his face. She looks over at him. "Ah, Damon. What can I do for you?" He raises his eyebrows and smirks evilly.

"Well, you could introduce me to this ravishing girl whom just tried to knock me on my ass…" I roll my eyes at girl, but growl lightly at the ravishing part.

"Alice," she says, "this is Damon Salvatore. He is on the Council." I don't try to hide my incredulity. I see Damon smile and I look at him. His shaggy black hair looks as if he just woke up, and his blue eyes are dancing with amusement. I feel a pang in my heart as I finally realize whom he resembles: my dead brother, Shane. A small, pained gasp comes from my lips and both Damon and Sheriff Forbes look at me. I can't take my eyes off of Damon, and I watch as his features changes slightly as his face changes to Shane's. I feel tears form in my eyes and fall as I look at him.

"Alice?" My eyes close harshly and when I open them, Damon's somewhat concerned gaze is right where Shane's just was. I look over at Sheriff Forbes and back at Damon, my heart ripping open. I shake my head, my mouth hanging open, before I start backing away. Damon takes a step towards me and I turn around and run.

Because my injuries are still healing, I can't run as fast as I normally would; in result, Damon catches up to me and grabs my arm, pulling me to a stop.

"Let me go," I tell him, but he doesn't, instead smoothing over my wrist with his thumb. Weird warmth spreads over the area he's touching and I look down, trying to get free. I realize that he is staring at me and wonder why until I notice that my hair is blowing in the gentle breeze and everything is brighter. I gasp, feeling for sunglasses that aren't there, and a hood that has fallen.

"What happened to you?" He asks and I shake my head.

"It's nothing, it was just an accident," I tell him and he lets me go. My wrist feels cold from where his hand was but I shake it off. I pull up my hood and look for my sunglasses. I see Sheriff Forbes bending down to pick them up and I sigh.

"I'm sorry about that," I tell her when she gets over to us. "I just…You remind me of my brother," I tell Damon and his brow furrows.

"Damon, take her somewhere to calm down," Sheriff Forbes says and Damon nods. Strange how I comply with her wishes with no refusal…

Damon takes me to his car and we get in, driving down the road quite a ways until we turn off on a side road. We eventually turn down a long driveway and at the end is a grand brick house. I gasp in awe at the monstrosity of it.

"I thought you might like it," he says and I look at him, seeing a small smile on his face.

"It's gorgeous," I tell him. "Do you live here?" He nods and I smile, getting out of the car. He follows and faster than I ever would have thought, he is walking beside me.

"My brother and I live here," he says and I feel another pang in my heart. I look at Damon and can't help but think that this is where I'm meant to be…

We go into the house and he gives me a tour, saving his room for last. He explains that his brother is out with his girlfriend and I shake my head at their innocence. We talk for hours and before I know it, the first rays of dawn are shining in the window. We eat something for breakfast and Damon drives me around town. I can't help but hear the lyrics of the song "Hear You Me" in my head as we drive. Damon notices how unusually quiet I am and turns to me after pulling over.

"You okay?" He asks and I shrug. "I know what it's like to move from place to place in search of something that feels like a ghost of time," he says bitterly and I look at him. I smile sadly and reach over, squeezing his hand. He looks at our hands and lifts his hand up, entwining our fingers together. He squeezes my hand in comfort, and I feel little tendrils of warmth spread over me. He starts to drive again and I notice that he still is holding my hand. I leave it like that, afraid to ruin the moment.

**~3_3~**

After I spent the night with Damon, along with the day, we parted ways and I met some of the other people in Mystic Falls. I met Caroline, Bonnie, Stefan, Kat, Tyler, Matt, and Jeremy. I will "go to school" with all of them, except Damon. My heart is saddened by that thought until I shake myself into reality. When I finally get back to my house, I do some further research into Mystic Falls, going back almost 400 years…

When I get off my computer, I feel a cold sadness and pain in my heart and soul. If what I read is correct, then Damon and Stefan Salvatore are vampires, and Tyler Lockwood is a werewolf. I sigh, deciding to take a shower before dressing in my usual dark wash jeans, black hoodie, and boots. I pull up my hood and put my sunglasses on, grabbing my laptop case and other experiment items. I head to school in my car and get through the first day. I watch Tyler and Stefan every chance I can get, making sure not to let on that I know about their secret. I notice that Stefan and Damon have the exact same ring and wonder why.

By the end of the day, my mind is tired, as well as my head. I hurry to my car, leaving the school as soon as possible.

For the next week or so, I avoid Damon like the plague. I can't bear seeing him, knowing what he is.

Week two: I still avoid him. I drift off into my research and my studies, preparing for the worst.

Week three: there was another animal attack and I fear it was Damon or Stefan. I went to the scene and I know it was a vampire. I want to hope it's not Damon.

Weeks four and five: I've been here a month and I still haven't found any sign of Dena. I've decided to confront Damon and Stefan. I killed another rogue vampire last night up by Roanoke.

Sighing, I pause in my typing, not knowing where to continue. I look over at the clock and decide to head over to the Salvatore house. I strap a couple of wooden knives to my ankles and have a stake tied at my stomach, ready. I tie my growing hair up in a ponytail and throw my hood up. I grab my keys and head out, speeding through the darkened town.

When I reach the road, I cut through the woods and park in the trees. Knowing I can be quieter on foot, I run at a silent pace the rest of the way, wincing every so often at the bruises I still have. I finally reach the house and I propel myself into a jump so I can climb the wall. I swing myself up onto the ledge quietly, walking stealthily over to a window. I look inside and see no one is around. Sighing, I grab my window-opening kit thingy and cut out a hole in the window, allowing me to open it from the inside.

I jump in, doing a somersault. I stop and listen; hearing nothing, I continue on downstairs. I bring out my stake gun and hold it out in front of me, ready to fire. I creep down the staircase, watching every corner. I hear voices in the living room and creep towards them.

"…So, what do you think?" Damon's voice rings out and my heart picks up.

"I think…" Stefan starts but pauses, "Kat? Is that you?" I look around and I see her come out of the bathroom. I wait until she is in front of me before I grab her, knocking her unconscious. "Kat?" I hear Stefan's voice coming closer and I run across the hall, hiding behind a statue. I watch as Stefan comes into the room and rushes over to Kat. "Kat! Are you all right? Kat, answer me!" I come out from behind the statue and raise the gun, cocking it. Stefan's head whips around and his eyes grow wide when he sees someone standing there with a stake gun. "Who are you?" He asks and I resist the urge to smirk. I take another step towards him. "Did you do this?" He asks. I smirk and nod. He growls and I watch as his face becomes animalistic, his eyes changing color and his fangs protruding.

"Come to Mama," I mumble as Stefan lunges for me. I fire the gun and it gets him in the stomach. He falls to the ground and I go over to him.

"Wh-Who are you?" He gasps out and I rip out the stake. He cries out in pain and growls at me.

"Well well well," Damon says, appearing out of nowhere, "What do we have here?" I quickly turn so that I can see both of them, whilst raising the gun. "What do you want?" He says to me and I can't help but feel guilty over doing this. "I said," he says growing angry, "what do you want?" I lower my head just enough to remove my sunglasses and throw my hood off. I pull my hair free and look back up at Damon and Stefan. I watch as their jaws drop and I smirk. I fire off another shot, but this time it's aimed at the lights. Suddenly, we are encased in darkness but I can still sense them.

Stefan comes at me and I quickly fend him off. Damon comes at me next and I hesitate for a second before fighting him as well. There's a pause in our fighting as the lights come back on, but then we just go at it more fiercely. Then, Damon and Stefan back away from me and I crack my knuckles, bending down to retrieve the knives I have strapped to me. When I stand upright, I flick the knives out and they both come at me. I throw one of the knives at each of them and watch as they both fall to the ground.

Damon looks up at me as I look to see where I got him: right below his heart. I did the same to Stefan. I watch as they pull out the knives and throw them onto the floor. I pick up the knives and my gun, giving them a hateful look before throwing open the door and storming out of it, a torrent of rain bursting from the sky. When I'm about 50 feet from the house, I sense one of them come up behind me. I turn around, going to punch him in the face, when he catches my fist in his hand. I look up into Damon's hurt and angry eyes.

"Why?" He demands me and I feel my lower lip quiver. I look away from him and he takes my shoulders in his hands. "Why?" He cries out, shaking me.

"Because you're a vampire!" I shout at him, meeting his eyes. "My brother, mother, AND father were all vampires! I watched as my father drove a stake through my brother's heart because he defended me for being friends with a witch! I killed my mother and father!" I yell at him, glad for the rain so he would not see the tears that are falling. "Vampires are cold-blooded _killers_!" I screech, my voice breaking at the end. "They took away my brother, whom I never knew loved me! And they murdered my best friend," I whisper sadly, closing my eyes on a harsh sob. "And now, the guy I have the hugest crush on is a vampire as well," I force my eyes to meet his and I see a hidden emotion in his eyes.

By now the rain has slowed to a light rain and I can see Damon better now. I watch as little droplets of water fall from his hair and how his shirt is clinging to him like a second skin.

"Come here," he says and takes my hand, leading me back to the house. When we get inside, he takes me straight to his room where he pulls out a phone and dials a number. I wait patiently whilst it rings. "Hey, Bonnie," Damon says and I wonder what he's up to. "Listen, I need a favor…I know, I know. But this isn't for me…Yes it is…Be here in 20 minutes. Oh and don't forget your spell book...Okay, see you then…Bye." I look at him questioningly and he gives me a small smirk.

"What are you planning?" I demand of him and he shakes his head. We wait for Bonnie to get here and I look at her questioningly as well. She just shrugs, cradling the spell book in her hands. My eyes narrow and then I gasp. "You're a witch!" I exclaim and she smiles and nods. "Holy shit…" She stifles a laugh as she turns to Damon.

"What did you need me for?" She asks and Damon motions for them to talk outside the door. She glances at me before heading out of the room with Damon. I sigh aggravated and sit down against the wall, hugging my knees to my chest. When they come back in, I look up at them. Bonnie goes over to the bed and sits down. Damon comes over and holds out a hand. I take it and he smiles at me. I walk over to the bed and sit down in front of Bonnie.

"I want you to close your eyes," she says and I do so, excitement and nervousness tingling inside me. I feel her hands on my face and she starts mumbling something under her breath. I feel a weird warmth in my face, down my arms and back and stomach. I feel my eyelids flutter and then she releases me. "You can open them now," she says and when I do, she gasps.

"What? What is it?" I ask, scared. She shakes her head in awe.

"Unbelievable," she whispers. "Go look in the mirror," she tells me and I get up to do so. "Wait, take off your hoodie first," she says and I comply, taking it off to reveal the dark red tank top I have underneath. I walk over to the mirror and I scream. I feel my face and see the flawless pale skin, feel the creamy texture of it, and I see the long flowing locks of black and red hair. I touch it to make sure it's real and when I find that it is, I scream again, and run to Bonnie, throwing my arms around her neck as tears of joy fall from my eyes.

"Thank you, thank you, and thank you!" I tell her and she hugs me back, laughing. I pull away and wipe away the tears. "I'm myself again. Well, mostly myself again," I tell her and she nods, understanding in her way.

She bids us goodbye and when the door closes behind her, I turn to face Damon. My eyes widen and my jaw hits the floor when I see that he is shirtless. I feel my breathing hitch and when I look up into his mischievous eyes, I walk towards him. He meets me halfway and he strokes my face before kissing me softly. I gasp, not expecting it, and he deepens the kiss, sending me into Oblivion. He pulls away and looks at me. I look down at his lips and back at him, torn between what I want and what is right. He sees the indecision in my face and smiles sadly, stroking my face once more before kissing my forehead.

"I'm going to take a shower," he says turning away. "You're more than welcome to crash here if you wish," he calls back, stepping into the rays of water. I see his naked outline and small tendrils of desire fire through me. But, no matter how much I want him…He's still a vampire and I'm still me.

In the end, I turn and leave the room, hearing the water shut off as I do so. I get as far as the door before I turn and run back into the room, throwing myself at him. He catches me around the waist, his lips finding mine in something akin to desperation. I sigh softly and he pulls me closer to him. Our kiss escalates to levels I never dreamed of. When things get too steamy, I pull away; Damon understands and after a while, knows my limits and doesn't push me beyond them. He pulls away to put on a pair of boxers and pajama shorts before reaching for me again, only this time to lay us on the bed. I realize, belatedly, that I'm still in my ruined clothes. He looks down and smirks, kissing me on the lips before getting up and rummaging through his drawers. He tosses me a shirt and a pair of boxers before motioning to the shower. I smile gratefully at him and give him a peck on the lips as I pass by.

When I get out of the shower, and am dressed, I feel his arms encircle around my waist. He picks me up and carries me to the bed, kissing me the whole while…

When we fall asleep, sometime later, I never realized how good it felt to be held y someone. I didn't have any nightmares.

**~3_3~**

**(TIME SKIP AGAIN…)**

**THREE YEARS LATER**

Dear Diary,

It's been three years since I moved to Mystic Falls. I've given up on searching for Dena, knowing it's a lost cause. It's been a total of 5 years since everything happened. I still think of Shane often, but with whatever happy memories we had.

After about 6 months of living in Mystic Falls, I moved into the Salvatore house. I sleep with Damon in his room. Oh, I also forgot to mention that I'm in love with him. We've both had our share of hurtful memories, but we've healed each other.

Damon, Stefan, Kat, Caroline, Bonnie, Jeremy, and Tyler, and I all hang out whenever we can. We're all in couples too, which is really cool. I'm with Damon, Stefan's with Kat, Caroline's with Tyler, and Bonnie's with Jeremy. We all have such great fun when we're together, that the darkness of midnight hardly seems dim anymore.

I feel like something is coming, I just don't know what. Bonnie says it's the witch in me that's got my 6th sense kicking in. Tyler says it's the wolf in me, letting me know when someone's encroaching on my territory. And Damon says it's the vampire in me, that I'm clairvoyant. Jeremy and Kat say it's just my human gut feeling…

I should explain. I found out about two years ago that the reason why I never felt human was because I'm not exactly human. I'm a hybrid, and a rare one at that. I'm the last of my kind. Damon says that means that not only does he have the most beautiful girl in the world, but he also has the most unique.

God, how I love him. He's my cranky, impulsive, sexy, amazing vampire and I couldn't be happier. Well, maybe if I knew where Dena was…

**(End Entry)**

I sigh, reading the last line. And shaking my head, I close my laptop, putting it off to the side and looking up at where Damon is sleeping. I bite my lip as I look at his sculpted abs and his happy trail. Being as quiet as possible, I wait until I'm right next to the bed to jump on it. His eyes shoot open and he grabs my legs, knocking me down. He rolls over so his body is pressed on top of mine and gives me his rakish smile before kissing me, his hand trailing down my side. I shudder helplessly and continue to kiss him, my hands pulling his hair gently.

When we pull apart, I stroke his face softly.

"I love you," I whisper to him and he smiles.

"I love you too," he whispers back and smiles at me, rolling over and pulling me close to him. I cuddle up next to him and kiss his chest. I look at the clock and see that it's almost 2:00am. Damon strokes down my head and down my back, going up and repeating the process. I sigh happily and stroke up and down his chest and stomach. Before long, a drowsy feeling overtakes me and soon we both fall asleep.

And when I dream, it is of a man and a woman coming to Mystic Falls in 6 months. Two witches. But before I can see their faces, the dream fades and soon the dream of Damon and I consummating our love takes over my mind. I can't imagine a better dream…

**Otay, So There Is The End Of Chapter 2! I Hope You Liked It And Yes, All Of Meh Chapters ARE Going To Be Longer Than Meh Friend, **Dena Elise Andromeda Delacore**! Sooooo, You Know What To Do…REVIEW! AND REMEMBER…I LOVE YOU ALL! **

**XOXO**

**xXxhurting-insidexXx**


	3. What's Lost is Now Found

**Well, chapter 3 is here! Enjoy! Also, **xXxhurting-insidexXx **is now officially my BETA for this story! Thanx Mi Chiva : )) .. **

**Chapter 3 – What is Lost is Now Found **

**Dena**

_Somewhere in Mississippi_

I'm running through the woods back at my home with Alice. We were going to her house because it was our weekly vampire movie day, ranging from Queen of the Damned to Vampire Effect. I laughed at her jokes about the armpit. Then I was running to Jair with my mom about to kill him.

"No! No not again!" I screamed in my sleep.

"Dena are you ok? Dena wake up you're dreaming!" Jair said trying to wake me. I jump out of the bed in the hotel that we rented out for the night.

"I had the dream again, Jair. I know that it is…is… just a dream but it is like I'm back 5 years ago. I pray that Alice is ok and that this life is not following her like it has been for me," I said with sadness in my voice.

"It is ok Dena. That is in the past. We are making our own life," Jair said holding me and rubbing my back while I cried. He went back to sleep but I didn't. I worked on finding a car because the last one crashed into a tree with a werewolf on the other end. After that I logged onto a online chat room, Bite Me, that I used so much that I don't even remember signing up for it. I look who is online and I see a newbie to the site.

_Vampboy__: Hi, does any1 know bout witches_

_Cursed__: Hi Vampboy I don't think that anyone on here believes in that stuff…but I do _

_Vampboy__: Thanks what do u know?_

_Cursed__: Well they don't like being called out like that and they hate dragon blood and they have more power than any other supernatural beings, but a hybrid. They have all the supers powers and then some._

_Vampboy__: Thanks 4 the info…how do u know so much?_

_Cursed__: I'm a witch._

_Vampboy__: Wow, my gf is one 2_

_Cursed__: what family is she from?_

_Vampboy__: She's a direct descendant from Emily Bennett. *dreamily* her name's Bonnie _

_Cursed__: *scoffs* they don't have that much power as the Delacore family_

_Vampboy__: she says that they r evil is that true_

_Cursed__: Yes but they had one daughter that is nice and they hated her for it_

_Vampboy__: Hated? What do u mean?_

_Cursed__: They killed her 5 yrs ago_

_Vampboy__: Damn that sux…Well I have to go. I hope that we can talk next time._

At that time I hear sounds coming from outside the door. I slowly get out of the chair and wake Jair putting my finger to my lips. He nods his head and we go to the door. I have been having a feeling that someone or something has been following us for a few months now. I talked to Jair and see if he talked to anyone back besides his family; he said no.

I make my way to my bag next to the bed. I have my knives in it. I found them in a vampire hunter's car after the vampire killed him. There was a lot of blood; well that is what you get for not coming with things that you know how to use. I can use knives and guns. My favorite gun is called the Black Rose. The bullets are full of sliver and vervain. Vervain is something that vampires hate.

I make my way to the door. I see under the door that there are shadows moving around outside it. I touch the end of one of the knives and cut my finger on it. The power we have may be good but blood protects us for our enemies. I take one side of the door while Jair takes the other with his guns. I hear knocking on the door.

"Who is it?" I asked already knowing that it is not housekeeping.

"Housekeeping," said a young male voice.

"Ok come on in," I said moving a little away from the as they kicked it in. They look around the room looking for us.

"Look behind you, bitches!" yelled Jair as he fired at them, hitting them each in the heart and leaving me with the ones outside the door. I head out in the hall, seeing that the lights were going on and off. I go at them and kill all but one.

"You cut me on my back!" I scream out in pain as I feel the blood begin to soak through my T-shirt.

"Dena! What happened? Are you ok?" Jair was yelling from the next room.

"I'm fine! Just start packing up," I yelled back. I heard him moving things around. "Now where was I…oh I know about to kill your sorry ass," I killed him and went back into the room and pick up the clothes in the bathroom. When we were set, we headed for an old parking lot that people forgot about a long time ago. I started to check the cars.

"Dena you are not thinking what I think you're thinking…Are you?" asked Jair.

"Yes," I said not turning around to see the look of sadness in his eyes. He doesn't like it when I hotwire a car but it comes in handy if you are trying to get away from things that want to hurt you.

"Thought so. I know I did…" Jair started to say as I found a car that unlocked. I think about Alice as I start to hotwire it. She was the one who drove Shane's car into the lake when she first started to drive. A sad smile crosses my features as I recall her face that day. Then I shake the past out of my head. The car starts up and Jair takes the wheel.

As we drive off away from the hotel I see someone walk into it. For a minute I think I see Alice but then I think again knowing that she is safe at her home with Shane. I started to fall asleep, only to dream of Alice and Shane like always.

**Dream Flashback**

"_Alice! What happened to my car? I told you that I would take you this weekend to drive it! Now how am I going to tell mom and dad about this?" Shane yelled at the top of his lungs._

"_Look she didn't mean to drive it into the lake. We lost the keys so we hotwired it to make it start. If you want someone to point the finger at point it at me." I yelled back. Back then I was 16 and everything was my doing._

"_Dena..."Alice started than stopped know that it so no use. Shane looked at me than at her._

"_Fine we say that someone took it and I don't know who. How does that sound? "he said knowing that he was not going to win against me._

"_Good," Alice and I said at the same time._

"_Ok. Alice go wash up mom and dad are going to home soon." Shane said. She got up and started to go up stairs. As soon as she was out of ear shot, Shane turned to me._

"_Dena, I know that you know that we are vampires. I want you to keep that to yourself and not tell Alice about it till the time is right, ok'"he said looking so sad._

"_I will not tell her but when the time is right you are going to tell her not me. Your 'parents' are going to kill her someday because of what she is, Shane. I told you this a long time ago. I will help keep her safe from all evil even if I have to die to do it," I said looking him right in the eye. I really mean what I said about that. I knew for a long time that they were vampires keeping a hybrid as a 'pet' so to say. _

**Dream Flashback ends**

When I woke up I had tears in my eyes. I looked at my hand see the rose burn on it. The mark of power and leadership. Jair has the same one but on his right arm that means he is second in command if something happens to me. The people that we are looking for have the same mark but on different parts of their bodies. Plus a little future seeing helps too.

We also started a coven a while ago for the people we are looking for. The name is the Rose Coven from the marks that we have. It is just Jair and me right now but we are on our way to get others.

**~3_3~**

It has been a few months now and the following stopped a while back. We are in a Hotel 8 in Greensboro, NC. So far now, no attacks, but I will not get my hopes up due to the fact that the last werewolf we fought with totaled the new car, again. I want to know why they attack the car and not us. I mean I get the whole headlights thing but come on!

I have been going on to the web site Bite Me to talk with Vampboy. Jair said not to tell him too much but all I said to him is that we are looking for my 'sister' who lives in North Carolina with my dad. I did not tell him, or if he is a he, her name or anything else likes that. I made sure that I didn't that would spell danger for our 'stay low and not get looked at' plan. We are going to Bunn tomorrow and see if we can find the girl named Kat.

I was up late working on a looking mirror to search for people. I have to be careful not to lose it or I will have 7 years bad luck. I cannot have that, at least not in this life anyways. I need all the luck I have to keep Alice safe from **them**. I don't know who **they** are but I know they mark their followers with snake-like head and body of lion. I cut off the skin of one of **them** two days ago and I've been doing research on it but come up short.

I know that I should be looking for safe houses and cars but I need info on **them**. If **they** are coming for me what is stopping them from coming after Jair or Alice. If I can stop it before that happens than I'll know they are safe. I need to talk to Vampboy soon about this.

**~3_3~**

We are at the girl's house right now. I don't get that much sleep because of the nightmares that I have. They have been getting to the point where if I sleep I wake up mere minutes later. Jair said that is it ok for me to not get some sleep but I hardly believe that.

"Dena we have some bad news," Jair said walking to car passenger's door.

"What? Don't tell me are too late," I ask as he comes up.

"No it is not that. She moved!"He said look worried for some reason.

"Where to?" I ask looking at his face.

"Mystic Falls," He said looking down not looking in my eyes has the anger got to me.

"What?" I exclaimed, my voice almost a yell.

"I knew you were not going like that news," he said a little afraid.

"The fucking 'Vampire City' itself!"**(xXxhurting-insidexXx A/N: I laughed meh ass off when I read this XD; BTW this is 5 years after Dena disappeared…So you're not confused))** I was about send a fireball into the tree but stopped, knowing it was not our problem if she moved or not. The fact that she moved there has to be a trap by someone. Someone that wanted us dead and wants to stop us by all means.

"Look we can't help it that she moved there. All we can do is pray to the Gods that she is still living. Do u still have the looking glass? How about looking for her?" he asked trying to calm me down so that I don't kill someone. I pulled out the little round mirror and look into it and see what I wanted to.

**Inside the mirror**

_A girl is sitting in a classroom talking to boy. This boy is tall I think is a Salvatore. I cannot tell because the picture is on Kat. They are talking about a girl but I cannot make anything out. Then a different girl comes in to the picture: _Alice._ What is she doing in a place like? I thought she would be at home. Shane said he would not let something happen to her._

**Outside the mirror**

"Alice is with them…how? I thought she was at home! Don't tell me **she** was the one following us all this time. Something must have happened to Shane. I _knew_ I should have not left without her!" I said near tears again. I have to get there and fast but that is going to problem, seeing as when we started the car it blows up!

**~3_3~**

Jair was fine because I pushed him out of the car but I'm a different story. I have to be at the hospital for a few months. The pain is so much that I can't think about anyone or thing. Jair is staying with me every day, but I can see the toll it's taken on him. He doesn't know if I'm going live with burn marks or die by them. Finally, however, I'm able to get out of the hospital and away from this town. I log on to Bite Me and start talking with Vampboy.

_Vampboy__: Hey Why haven't u been on_

_Cursed__: The car that we were driving blew up n' I was in the hospital_

_Vampboy__: Omg r u ok?_

_Cursed__: Yea it didn't leave burn marks if that what u mean_

_Vampboy__: so what have u been up to bside pain pills_

_Cursed__: What do u know bout __Mystic Falls?_

_Vampboy__:____I live here and it has vamps, witches, and werewolves_

_Cursed__: oh my_

_Vampboy__: Yea it nice tho_

_Cursed__:*sarcastic* Bkuz living with vamps, wolves, and witches is so much fun, right?_

_Vampboy__: *shrugs* It is better than being on the run from things that u don't even know of._

_Cursed__: *holds back laugh* u r right that is my bad_

_Vampboy__: I hope we can meet in person_

_Cursed__: *witch's laugh* And ur little dog 2_

_Vampboy__: lol… that is a good 1_

_Cursed__: haha that is what I get 4 watchin wizard of oz 4 the time that I'm in that hellhole_

_Vampboy__: u don't like hospitals do u_

_Cursed__: I hate them as much as I hate my cooking_

_Vampboy__: well on that note c u_

_Cursed__: bye_

Like that we pulled up to a store for food and supplies that we needed for the trip. I'm not looking forward to going to Mystic Falls at all. I know that's where **they **are going be and that **they **are hoping to get lucky. A super powered witch and a hybrid goes a long way on the black market. I have been to it once and they don't like it when you start asking questions about how they got them.

I waited in the car thinking about how the car blew up while we were still in it. The only thought that came to mind was that **they** had a super that can be there in flash. I read somewhere that humans make them into super soldiers or something. I really didn't want to think about it; all I really wanted to be was sleep.

**Dream**

_I'm running in the woods outside my house going to Alice's. I hope to the Gods that she is ok. When she called she had fear in her voice like someone broke into her house. I use a speed spell to move around the big pine trees that have lived here for years._

"_Alice! Alice! Alice where are you? Come out!" I yell with fear. Then I see her in the corner of the room. I walk up to her and she turns around, covered in blood..._

**Dream Ends**

"Nooo!" I scream bolting upright with the bloody image of Alice in my head.

"What?" Jair asks turning away from the laptop.

"It's nothing. I am fine," I say as I find my discarded clothes from last night; I get dressed, my body sore in all the right places from a sex filled night with Jair. I know that something is going to happen when we get to Mystic Falls, but what I don't know.

**~3_3~**

The rest of the way, my mind is filled with my best friend. What is she doing in Mystic Falls? Why would she go there in the first place? She a hunter now and if so why had she not killed the Salvatore family yet? She needs to answer the questions I have about that when we get there. I was thinking about different reasons why when my phone went off. I looked at it and it was from Vampboy who logged on.

_Vampboy__: Hi, Cursed whts up_

_Cursed__: nm what bout u…how bonnie…did the charm work_

_Vampboy__: Charm? What charm?_

_Cursed__: u have been askin me 4 the past 3 months 4 it and u forgot…u better hope that soul is gone or she might end up 6ft under…the ghost that is after her wants her power I had to make one for my best friend yrs ago…I miss her so much_

_Vampboy__: Years? How many? _

_Cursed__: 5 yrs and 6 months but I used a looking mirror and found out where she is_

_Vampboy__: Wait…Dena?_

_Cursed__: What? Hey…I didn't tel u my name! how di…ALICE?_

_Vampboy__: Oh My Goth! It IS You! Dena, Where Are You? What The Hell Happened To You? Wh…*angry* YOU LEFT MEH! WHY DID YOU LEAVE MEH? :'( …HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO MEH? I ALMOST __**DIED **__FOR YOU! _

_Cursed__: Ali, plz let me explain…_

_Vampboy__: NO! YOU'VE HAD 5 FUKKING YEARS TO EXPLAIN! YOU LET MEH BELIEVE YOU WERE DEAD! _

_Cursed__: u don't undrstnd!_

_Vampboy__: I don't WANT to understand…_

_Vampboy has logged off_

I stared at the screen, my fingers poised above the keys. I swallowed a few times to get the lump out of my throat, but noticed it wouldn't go away. I ask Jair to pull over because I have to use the bathroom and he does. When I exit the car, I all but run into the rest stop, my heart breaking into tiny shards. I make sure I'm the only person in the little bathroom before falling to my knees with a wave of pain so fierce, it knocks the breath out of me.

How could I do this to my best friend? I left her for death. I should've known she would see the smoke and flames but do I think about shit like this? Nope, and now she hates me. I cry for what seems like hours, hugging my arms around me. For some odd reason, I feel as if a part of me has died…And maybe it has…

I hear my phone go off again but I don't feel like getting it. I try to move to the door to call for Jair but I can hardly move. The fact that Ali hates me makes me want to die right there, but I know that there are people out there that need me. I got a hold of myself and stop crying like baby. That part of me died with my family years ago. I'm not the same person I was back then.

I look at the phone and see that Vampboy has logged back on.

_Vampboy: Who r u?_

_Cursed: is this Vampboy or Alice?_

_Vampboy: it's me_

_Cursed: Did Alice tell u my name?_

_Vampboy: Yea but I will tell u my name…it is Jeremy Galbert_

_Cursed: Nice to meet u how did Alice get ur password?_

_Vampboy: umm_

_Cursed: it ok I don't mind_

_Vampboy: so back to the ? B4_

_Cursed: I'm Dena Delacore…the daughter of a powerful family that used the black arts for generations…I was the 1__st__ witch in the family that did not want that power but I got it anyways…I love the person that they said was going to kill me…I didn't believe them so I fell in love w/ him…they tried to stop me by trying to kill him so I killed them…I have been looking for people like me…like us…ppl w/ powers and other things 2 come into our coven that we have…I burned down my house and lived w/ my boyfriend leaving my best friend and sis alone in this trying to keep her safe from ppl that want to use her power for their plans…but I guess she hates me for that n' I can't say that I disagree w/ it…that sis story I told u bout is a lie that I tell ppl…she is not my sis but someone w/ the same mark as us; the girl we're looking for…_

_Vampboy: mark? What type of mark?_

_Cursed: it is like a burn mark in the shape of a rose…that is the name of our coven 2….Rose Coven_

_Vampboy: can it be on any part of the body?...Like, the shoulder or wrist?_

_Cursed: yea…y?_

_Vampboy: Bkuz including me…Alice, Bonnie, Stefan, Damon, Kat, Caroline, & Tyler all have one…But, Alice is the only one with one on the back of her neck…Bonnie, Caroline, & Kat have 1 on their left shoulder, and Damon, Stefan, Tyler, & me all have one on our right…_

_Cursed: What? How? I was only c-ing one in my dreams but there r 5 more…but then again the pics were always unclear…so u and the others r put of a very old coven_

_Vampboy: Well…I guess I can undrstnd Alice, Damon, Stefan, Bonnie, Caroline, & Tyler…But…why me? What's so specl bout me? Ima human…_

_Cursed: Ur human? …_

_Vampboy: Yea…_

_Cursed: I have 2 do some research on it a.k.a my black book_

_Vampboy: Black book? Is that what it is called_

_Cursed: yea but u have specl in some way r the gods wouldn't give it 2 u in the 1__st__ place rite_

_Vampboy: yea…_

_Cursed: I'll log on when I get something, ok_

_Vampboy: ok bye_

_Cursed: bye_

I turn off my phone and head out of the door to the car. Jair looks at me and says nothing, but I know he's thinking that something happened when I talked to Vampboy. I don't want to tell him about Alice. I know if I say that Alice is in Mystic Falls he is going to turn around and drop me off and go by himself. I don't want that to happen so I have to keep that quiet. I pull out my bag and look for my black book.

"What took you so long back there?" Jair asks. I know that keeping quiet was not going to happen.

"Jair," I begin, knowing what's going to happen, "Alice is alive and she's in Mystic Falls." And just like I predicted, Jair slams on the brakes and looks at me.

"No, you can't go to Mystic Falls!" He says and I see fear in his eyes, along with a look that says that he knows something I don't.

"Jair, what aren't you telling me?" I ask him and he swallows, shaking his head.

"Nothing," he says and continues driving. I try not to let the fact that he's hiding something from me bother me, so I look in the black book and sift through until I come to a page that makes my jaw drop.

"J-Jair," I whisper and he looks at me. I meet his gaze and I try to speak, but find that words fail me.

"What is it?" He asks, concern lacing his every syllable.

"I know what Jeremy is…"

**Mwahahahahahahahahahaha, See How Evil I Can Be? BTW, **xXxhurting-insidexXx **Wrote the Last Little Bit, From When Jair Slams On the Breaks to the End..Teehee, I'm so Evil : )) .. But, Oh Dear, Oh My! What Could Poor Jeremy Be? Teehee… Don't Forget To REVIEW! **


	4. The Beginning of the End

**Hiya This Is Chapter 4 of **The Beginning of Never **! Yayyness : )) … Last Chapter Was Ahhmazing Wasn't It? Yes, I Know… Sooo, Enjoy Chapter 4 *lots of hearts***

**Chapter 4 – The Beginning of the End**

**Alice**

If there is one thing that the human mind is incapable of comprehending, it is the depth of which the other world is forgotten and eroticized, of which the forbidden world of the undead and all of its secrecy is far more than what it is made out to be. For many years longer than even I can begin to fathom, this other world has had its own complex set of ideas and laws; it has adapted to the changing of the modern world, and slowly the old ways have been forgotten. Thankfully, there are still a few immortals who practice the old ways.

I sigh, biting my lip in frustration as I think of what to add next. I feel arms snake around my waist and I smile and look over my shoulder at Damon. He gives me a big grin and kisses me soundly on the lips.

"And how are you today, my love?" He asks me and I shrug, looking back at the screen. "Still trying to finish that history paper for Alaric?" I nod bite my lip once again. He sighs. "Okay, come on. You've spent enough time in front of the computer for one day, I believe," he says, taking my computer and putting it on the bedside table. I look at him adoringly and he takes my hand, leading me away from the damned computer.

"Where are we going?" I ask him, and he smiles, putting a finger to his lips. "Ah, so it's a secret I take it?" He winks at me and I shake my head, so in love with him, I would go anywhere if he asked. "Can I at least get dressed first?" I stop, looking down at the boxers and button down shirt I'm still in from having taken them from Damon the night before. He grins and cocks his head to the side.

"Hmmm, but this is _very _becoming on you, my dear," he says, taking me by the waist and bringing me closer to him. I smile against his lips as he kisses me once more. I wrap my arms around his neck and I continue to kiss him, the familiar shock making my heart race. I hear a throat clear to my left and we pull away. I look over at the amused eyes of Bonnie. I clear my throat and look down, embarrassed.

"Well, looks like I'm not the only one who had dessert before breakfast," she teases gently. I smile and entwine my fingers with Damon's.

"Bonnie," Damon says with a nod.

"Ali, can I talk to you for a sec…?" She asks and I nod. "Alone?" I look over at Damon and he smiles before giving me a quick kiss and saying he will be in the shower if he needs me. I laugh as he sways his hips back and forth as he walks away. I turn back to Bonnie and she has a worried expression on her delicate features.

"What is it Bon?" I ask her and we walk to the living room, sitting down on the couch.

"I saw someone…" She says and I furrow my brows in confusion.

"Okay, but I don't see how this would be bad…" I tell her and she shakes her head.

"No, it's not like that. I tried to see her more clearly, but she blocked me, Ali," she replied and I can sense real fear in her voice.

"I'm sure it's nothing. But, let me see," I tell her and she holds out her hands. I take them in mine and we close our eyes, mumbling the chant. Before long, I see what has her so frightened and I gasp: It's Dena. After so many years, her face is still unchanged, still angelic, still Dena. I feel tears form behind my closed eyelids and feel them spill over as I see my dead sister.

I let go of Bonnie's hands, opening my eyes.

"Who is she, Ali?" Bonnie asks and I look out the window in awe.

"That's my supposedly dead best friend," I tell her, a pang of anger shooting through my heart. "She's supposed to be dead…"

"Wait, is she the one you were searching for?" I nod sadly and Bonnie pulls me into a hug. "Oh, Ali…I'm so sorry!" I sniffle and hug her back.

"It's fine, I guess. I just hate how she didn't even bother to try and see if I was still alive…" As I speak, I can tell that Bonnie is holding something back. "Bon, what aren't you telling me?" I ask her, pulling away. She sighs.

"It's Jeremy," she tells me and I sit up straighter. Now what did the little shit do?

"What did he do now?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"It's probably nothing but, he's been getting on this chatting site lately, but it's not a human chat site. There are vampires, witches, and werewolves on it as well. I'm worried about him, Ali," she tells me and I look down and away, sighing.

"I'll talk to him about it," I tell her and she gives me a grateful smile. "What's the site?"

"Thanks, Alice. And it's called Bite Me."

"No problem, Bonnie." I watch as she gets up and leaves, waving at me. I smile at her and wave back. When she closes the door behind her, I shake my head. Damon comes down the hallway at that moment and my jaw drops when I see that he only has a towel wrapped around his lean hips, water dripping down his chest. I swallow a couple of times, and he gives me a weird look and walks, well more like struts, over to the liquor tray.

"See something you like?" He asks and I, playing his game, cross my arms over my chest and lay back against the couch, making the shirt I'm wearing open slightly. I cock my head to the side and I smile mischievously at him.

"Well, I don't know," I say as if I'm really thinking about it, "I mean, I don't really see anything. Hmmm, you know, I am not sure if I do see something I like," I tell him in a serious voice. Damon puts down the glass he is holding and raises an eyebrow.

"Oh, really?" He asks and I feel my heart pick up.

"Y-Yes," I say, but it sounds like a question.

"Well, we're going to have to do something about that, aren't we?" I watch as he steps around the tables and couches and comes over to me. In one quick motion, he rips the towel off of his body. Expecting him to be naked, I gasp and cover my eyes. He laughs a deep, throaty laugh and I peek through my fingers and see that he has boxers on.

"Jerk!" I tell him, throwing a pillow at him. He catches it and laughs once more.

"What would you have done if I was naked underneath this towel?" He whispers to me as he leans over the couch, placing his hands on either side of my face. He has me trapped. I lick my lips to try and prepare to talk, but no words come out. "Hmm?" He asks and I resist the urge to run my hands up and down his chest.

"I-I would have looked the other way," I whisper to him, meeting his eyes. I see a twinkle in them that I wouldn't have 4 years ago.

"Would you?" His voice whispers in my ear and I shiver. With one hand supporting him up, he trails the other one down my face, down my neck, down the center of my chest, and around to my side, going back up. I gasp softly and bite my lip.

"Yes?" I ask, not noticing. He chuckles and backs away from me, picking up his discarded towel off the floor and grabbing his drink. I watch him with shock, my body tingling with secret desires. Did that really just happen? I try to hide my hurt by getting up walking into the kitchen for a glass of water. Irrational tears of rejection pool in my eyes and I can't help but let them fall. I wipe them away furiously, though, so Damon won't see.

I feel his arms wrap around my waist and I jump slightly.

"What's wrong?" He whispers, kissing the side of my neck. I shiver helplessly.

"You pulled away…Again," I tell him, and am surprised at how broken I sound. Suddenly, he spins me around and I gasp. He holds my face in his hands and kisses me. Of their own accord, my hands wrap around his waist, pressing closer to him.

**(Here Comes A Lemon ;D … *sighs happily* I Love Lemons…) … (Rated M)**

When things start to get even more heated than usual, I feel him begin to pull back. I break our kiss and look at him.

"Don't pull away from me, my love," I whisper to him. "Please…" I whisper against his lips.

"Never…" He whispers back before trapping my lips with his, kissing me in a new way; a way that makes my legs start to shake and my insides turn liquid. His hands trail down from my face and go to my shirt, unbuttoning the buttons. When the last button pops free, the butterflies flutter in my stomach. I feel the soft touch of his cool fingertips against my heated flesh and I moan softly. When I feel the first touch of his hands on my breasts, I gasp and accidentally bite his lip, eliciting a groan from him. The sound drugs me and I pull away from his lips to kiss down his neck before biting down gently on him.

"Al-Alice…" He whispers out in a choked voice. I smile against his neck and I give him a love bite, drawing blood. In return, he squeezes my breast and I moan louder than before. At this moment, I am so glad that Stefan spent the night over at Kat's… My lips find his again and it's a battle as our tongues dance for dominance. And then, like I knew he would, he pulls away once more. This time, I don't try to hide the tears. He looks at me with concern in his eyes but I shake my head at him and untangle myself from his arms, walking away. I make it to our room when he grabs me again, kissing me like he would die if he didn't. I gasp as he picks me up and carries me to the bed, lying on top of me.

He takes off the shirt I have on and soon his lips replace his hands on my breasts. I cry out as the sensations drive my body wild.

"Wh-Why did you pull away from me before?" I ask shakily, not recognizing my own voice. He comes back up and looks at me, a small smile on his face.

"You deserve more than a quickie on a kitchen counter, my love. Before you, I had no purpose. But now that I do have you, I want to give you everything you deserve and more. I knew if I pulled away that you would come here…" His words die off as I reach for him, kissing him with everything I am. He kisses me back with the same passion, and I can feel how much he desires me. His lips trail down my neck and chest, suckling on my breasts once more. I arch into him, loving him with everything I am. I run my hands through his hair and when he travels lower, quivers of desire shoot to my womanhood. "You smell delicious," he whispers before his hands pull down the boxers I have on, revealing myself to him.

"I love you, Damon," I whimper, as his hands and mouth kiss and rub my thighs. When I feel the first touch of his hands _inside _me, I cry out, a wave of pleasure knocking the breath out of me. He continues his menstruations, and I turn wanton in his clutches. His mouth takes over for his hands and I reach climax as the new sensations send my body overboard.

When I come back down from my high, he kisses up my body, reaching my lips where I can taste myself on him. I take his boxers off as well and I reach up and kiss his chest, swirling my tongue around his nipple. He growls deep in his throat and the sound drags me further down into the vortex of pleasure. I force him to lie back and then I begin the same menstruations he performed on me. And when I reach his throbbing manhood, my hands grasping him firmly, I feel him twitch below me. He moans so loudly, it sounds as if it hurt.

In a daring move, I place my mouth over the tip of him and he cries out, his voice cracking with joy. As I begin to suck on his rock hard erection, I feel his hands entwine in my hair, guiding me. After some time, his cries of passion become small gasps and held breaths. And then, as he reaches his own climax, I feel hot liquid shoot down the back of my throat, making me gag slightly. But, not knowing how it tastes, I swallow all of it. When I pull my head up and look at him, I lick my lips for emphasis and he groans again. When I wink at him, I feel him go solid once more and I look down.

"That thing just doesn't quit, huh?" I tease him and he growls seductively before grabbing me and getting on top of me. He kisses me with something akin to desperation before thrusting inside me. I bite his lip again and that just drive him _crazy_. As his thrusts become more determined and quick, I feel another orgasm build up. He shifts his body in a way that makes sharp tendrils of passion curl into my stomach. After he hears that moan erupt from my throat, he does it again and again, until my climax comes with a scream from me that could wake the dead. I'm surprised it doesn't…

**~3_3~**

After a while, when our breathing has calmed down, I look at Damon. He gazes at me, nothing but love in his eyes.

"_That _was the most amazing sexual experience I have ever had," he whispers to me. I laugh softly.

"That was the most amazing sexual experience I have ever had, period," I tell him and he laughs a deep throaty laugh that makes my body react instantly. Because he's the cocky bastard he is, he takes a deep breath in and looks at me, renewed lust in his eyes. "Damon," I threaten only half-heartedly. But he doesn't hear it for his lips are already on my body again.

And for the longest time, I didn't say a word that didn't revolve around Damon…

**(Rated M Part Over…Teehee XD…How Did You Like That? Even If You Didn't IDC…) **

**~3_3~**

When we finally collapse onto the bed, we are drenched in sweat.

"Dear God," I gasp out, not even having the strength to look at Damon. "How do you _do _that?" He smirks a devilish smirk and he pulls my face over to look at him.

"Well, my love, I _am _a vampire…" I roll my eyes at that statement, too happy to be mad at him. At that moment, my stomach chose to growl. He chuckles. "Food for the hybrid?" I smile and laugh. "Be right back,' he says, kissing me quickly before jumping out of the bed and opening the door.

"Damon!" I hiss and he looks back at me. "What about your brother?" He winks at me before strutting down the hallway, in stark nudity. I shake my head in awe. "Oh my God, I'm in love with a crazy vampire…" I say to myself, and smile, knowing he's it for me.

When he comes back with finger food, he feeds me, seeing as my bones have turned to rubber. When we finish the plate, he puts it on the side table before reaching for me, tucking me into his side. I wrap one arm around him and lay it on his chest. He entwines our fingers together and kisses my knuckles. I see something on his shoulder and I manage to sit up.

"What is it?" He asks and I look at his right shoulder, seeing what looks like a brand of a black rose.

"What is this?" I ask him and he looks.

"Holy shit, where did that come from?" He exclaims, looking at it. I shake my head, not knowing. "Do you have one?" He asks and I look on my shoulders, seeing nothing. Damon looks on my back, lifting my hair away and gasps. "You have one on the back of your neck, love," he says and I feel for a ridge or something, indicating that something is there. But all I feel is smooth skin.

"What the hell is this?" I ask, to whom I don't know. Just then, both our phones start ringing. We get up and answer them.

"Hello?" We ask and look at each other and speak at the same time.

"Bonnie has one on her left shoulder," I say.

"Stefan has one on his right shoulder," Damon says. "And Kat has one on her left shoulder too, and Jeremy has one on his right shoulder."

"Caroline and Tyler have one on their shoulders as well," I say, hearing their freaked voices in the background.

We all decide to meet up later tonight and talk about it with Alaric. After that, we get off the phones, and I have a sinking feeling in my stomach. Damon leads me to our room and we lie down, snuggling against each other.

"What can it mean?" I ask and he shrugs.

"I don't know, Ali…I really don't know." I sigh and snuggle closer to him. He tightens his hold on me and soon we fall asleep to the sound of each other's breathing.

When we wake up a little bit later, almost 9:00 am, I kiss his forehead and tell him I have to go see Jeremy about something dealing with Bonnie. He nods and decides to go hunt.

**~3_3~**

I walk up the steps of the Gilbert home, preparing for the worst. I open the door, calling out my coming in.

"Jeremy? Kat? Stefan? It's Alice," I call out and I hear Kat reply from upstairs. But, I see Jeremy sitting on the couch, typing furiously on his phone. "Hey, what's that?" I ask, walking over to him. He looks up and back down at his phone.

"It's this really cool chat site on my phone," he says.

"Can I see?" I ask him. He types something before looking at me.

"There's something you should know," he says and I nod, sitting down. She launches into a recap of how he started talking to some 'cursed' person on the site and everything she told him. When he finishes, I hold out my hand; he sighs and places it in my hand. I look down at the screen and read the conversation:

_Vampboy__: Hi, Cursed whts up_

_Cursed__: nm what bout u…how bonnie…did the charm work_

I look at Jeremy, the question in my eyes. He motions for me to do whatever. So, I reply…

_Vampboy__: Charm? What charm?_

_Cursed__: u have been askin me 4 the past 3 months 4 it and u forgot…u better hope that soul is gone or she might end up 6ft under…the ghost that is after her wants her power I had to make one for my best friend yrs ago…I miss her so much_

My brow furrows in curiosity whilst a hollow feeling falls into the pit of my stomach.

_Vampboy__: Years? How many? _

_Cursed__: 5 yrs and 6 months but I used a looking mirror and found out where she is_

_Vampboy__: Wait…Dena? _

I gasp as I realize who he has been talking to for almost 3 months now. Dena.

_Cursed__: What? Hey…I didn't tel u my name! How di…ALICE?_

I type furiously, tears blurring my vision.

_Vampboy__: Oh My Goth! It IS You! Dena, Where Are You? What The Hell Happened To You? Wh…*angry* YOU LEFT MEH! WHY DID YOU LEAVE MEH? :'( …HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO MEH? I ALMOST __**DIED **__FOR YOU! _

_Cursed__: Ali, plz let me explain…_

_Vampboy__: NO! YOU'VE HAD 5 FUKKING YEARS TO EXPLAIN! YOU LET MEH BELIEVE YOU WERE DEAD! _

_Cursed__: u don't undrstnd!_

_Vampboy__: I don't WANT to understand…_

As the last line sends, I let the tears pool over. In agony and sorrow, I feel my heart rebreak, shattering into a thousand pieces. I log off and throw Jeremy's phone onto the other couch, letting vicious sobs encase me. For 5 ½ years, I believed she was dead, for 5 ½ years, I followed her and searched for her, and for 5 ½ years she betrayed me.

"I don't want you to go onto that chat site _ever _again, do you understand me?" I screech at Jeremy. He jumps at the tone of my voice, but the anger that I've held for so long inside of me, the barrier I built so carefully, has broken and now I can't stop. "Do you?" He nods and I feel the presence of two other bodies join us.

"Alice, what's wrong?" I hear Kat ask me. I whip around to face her and the look I gave her could have froze Hell. She backs up a couple of steps, swallowing audibly. Stefan, in protective mode, steps in front of her.

"Alice, are you all right?" He asks and I glare at him.

"You know what? _No_, I'm not all right! And you wanna know why? Because the person I thought was my best friend, whom I almost fucking _died _for, is really alive! And to top it off, she didn't even bother telling me in some way shape or form that she _was_! She fucking lied to me! She made me believe that she was dead! She _betrayed _me!" I cry out, falling to my knees with a sob so vicious, it sends a sharp pain to my heart. My scream is blood curdling, wordless in all of its agony.

I cry for me, I cry for Dena, I cry for Damon, I cry for Shane and my parents, I cry for the people they killed, that I killed, I cry for my friends I have here…But most importantly, I cry because a part of me feels like it is burning alive, shriveling up and dying. The one person on this Earth I thought I could trust, lied and betrayed me.

As my screams escalate, I hear thunder rumble and lightning crackle, I feel the lights flicker on and off, but mostly I feel the fear that I am causing my friends. I faintly hear the door open and close not even five minutes later and then a pair of arms wrap around me. I look up bleary-eyed into the blue eyes of my Damon. He pulls me into a bone-crushing hug and I let him, needing to feel like I am still alive. But how can someone be alive when they're burning?

"Shh, it's all right, I've got you…No one will harm you, I promise," Damon's words echo through my heart and I begin to calm down. Three more pairs of arms wrap around me and they too begin to whisper sweet nothings to me in order to calm me down. At last, the small storm fades and the lights come back on. I look up and see all the concerned faces of my friends.

"I'm sorry," I say, my voice thick with tears.

"It's okay," they all reply at the same time, earning them a small smile. They let go of me, except Damon, and he helps me up, wrapping his arms around me. I let out a harsh sob and dig my nails into his back. He shushes me and cradles me to him, rocking me. I bury my face in the collar of his shirt, breathing in his heavenly scent. I kiss his neck and he shivers.

Sniffling, I pull away just enough to kiss his jaw softly.

"Thank you," I whisper to them and I see them nod. I sigh and look over at Kat who still held fear in her eyes. "I didn't mean to scare you, Kat. I really didn't," I tell her and she nods, a sympathetic smile crossing her features. Damon kisses my temple and I sigh, closing my eyes.

"When was the last time you fed?" Stefan asks and I open my eyes, my mouth opening slightly as I feel my eyes go dark and my fangs protrude. He nods knowingly.

"I'm out," I tell him and he grimaces.

"How long have you been out?" He asks and I look away, embarrassed. "Alice?" I sigh.

"A couple weeks, no big deal. I ordered some more," I tell him.

"And how long should it take to get here?" He asks and I shrug.

"They said a few weeks, maybe more. It takes years to get all the ingredients, Stefan," I implore, "so I'm amazed that they can get it in mere weeks. I'll be fine, I promise."

"Ali, you almost destroyed the house," Kat says, taking a few steps towards me. "I'm still not really comfortable with the whole feeding thing but, you need to feed. I know hospital blood and animal blood tastes nasty. But," she says, now standing in front of me, "what about human blood?" She takes out a pin she had on her shirt and cuts on her neck. Instantly, I feel my vampire side come out.

"No," I growl out, standing behind Damon. "I won't feed on you."

"Ali, you need to feed. And quite frankly, I'm the only one who can handle it." I look at her, the blood on her neck, at Jeremy and Stefan, and finally at Damon. He stands aside and nods. I look back at Kat and, before she realizes what's happened, I grab her and bite down on her neck, drawing her blood. She gasps and arches her back, turning lucid in my grasp. I pull away, taking a few steps back and look at her. She gazes at me, putting a hand on her neck, a look of pure awe on her face. "What _was _that?" She whispers and I shake my head. I put a finger to my lips and swallow.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because you're the Dopplegänger," I tell her and she nods.

**~3_3~**

After we clean Kat up, we call up Bonnie, Tyler, and Caroline. They agree to meet us at Stefan and Damon's in 45 minutes so we can talk about the rose branding. Stefan, Kat, and Jeremy all go upstairs to get ready.

"You guys," Damon calls up and Stefan appears at the top of the staircase. "We're gonna be a little late. I need to show Alice something," he says and I give him a questioning glance. Stefan nods and disappears once more. I look at Damon and he smirks at me, taking my hand and leading me to the car waiting.

"Damon, where are we going?" He laughs softly.

"To where I wanted to take you earlier, before we got distracted," he whispers, pulling me close to him and kissing my neck. I smile and grab his chin, pulling his face closer to me so I can kiss him. At the first touch of his lips on mine, he squeezes my waist, kissing me for a few minutes before pulling away.

"Sorry," I say huskily, and he winks at me before putting me in the car, walking around to his side. He starts the car and pulls out from his space, driving down the road. We take a few side roads before he takes a barely noticeable dirt path. I glance at him every now and then, but he merely smiles and holds my hand. I see a break in the trees up ahead and my heart picks up in anticipation.

When we break though the trees, it's to a magnificent field with a tall hill. I glance at Damon and he smiles at me once more. He gets out of the car, coming around to get me out as well. He takes my hand and leads me up the hill, smiling the whole way. When we reach the top, I gasp.

"It's so beautiful," I whisper and he wraps his arms around my waist.

"Not as beautiful as you," he whispers in my ear and I smile. He kisses my head and then places his chin on top of my head, gazing out at the sunset with me. I sigh, wishing this moment could last forever. "I love you, Alice," he tells me and I look at him, a frown on my face.

"Why do you say it like you're saying goodbye?" I ask, my eyes betraying the hurt in my voice. His eyes widen and he shakes his head.

"No, no, no," he says, hugging me. "I would never," kiss to the forehead, "ever," another kiss, "want to say goodbye to you. You are my everything, Alice," he whispers, looking me in the eyes. I gasp with the intensity of his emotions. "You saved me from an eternity of pain and hatred. You brought me into the light. You have my whole heart, my love!" He exclaims, placing one of my hands on top of his heart, putting one of his hands on top of mine. "I don't want it without you…I only want you. I couldn't live with myself if I ever hurt you, or if you left. Alice," he says, getting down on one knee, "will you marry me?" He asks, pulling out a black velvet box and opening it to reveal a diamond and ruby encrusted silver ring. I gasp, my hands covering my mouth. Tears weld in my eyes as I gaze at him.

"Yes, a thousand times _yes_!" I shriek. He places the ring on my finger.

"A perfect fit," he whispers before I throw myself at him. He catches me by the waist, plastering me against his body. I kiss him passionately, holding his face in my hands. He moves so I am lying on top of him and then he holds me by the waist, kissing me back. I feel him go rock hard beneath me and I giggle. I kiss down his jaw and neck. "Do you see…What you do to me…?" He whispers as I bite down on his neck, drawing blood. He gasps in pleasure and I straddle him, running my hands down his chest. He growls and rolls us over, pinning me underneath him whilst sinking his fangs into my neck. I gasp as well, moaning in pleasure.

"I _feel _what I do to you…" I whisper back before another moan takes its place. He leans back slightly, my blood coating his chin, before kissing me, the taste of our blood mingling together. I feel his hands move the straps of my spaghetti-strap tank top down, revealing my breasts to the cool night. I shiver at the sensations, moaning when he places his mouth over one nipple, suckling.

**(Another Rated M Part…Teehee)**

I rub my hands down his chest, going up inside his shirt and removing it. He does the same for my jean shorts and undies, pulling them down my legs and tossing it beside us. I sit up to remove his jeans, laughing when he has to stand up and remove them the rest of the way.

Soon, he is standing in his full, stark white nudity and a quiver of lust rolls in my stomach. I lean back, propping myself up on my elbows, and motioning him, with a finger, to come here. He growls, lunging for me, and I laugh, wrapping my arms around his neck as he plunges inside, filling me. I cry out in pleasure, pulling his hair. He groans and starts to thrust inside me harder and faster. I arch my back and he takes a nipple in his mouth, teasing it with his tongue.

With pure will power, I roll over so I am on top. I start to ride him, leaning back so his thrusts hit my G-spot. After a few minutes, he grabs me again, picking me up and thrusting even harder and faster inside me. And soon, my climax comes with a blinding white haze, and I scream out his name.

**(Rated M Part over…For Now)**

After we get dressed, which is delayed because we keep stopping to kiss, we eventually make our way back to the car and back to his house, holding hands the whole while.

When we arrive at his house, everyone is already there and waiting. If I was pure human, I would blush at the looks we receive. Damon takes a seat on a chair, pulling me down to sit on his lap. Stefan and Kat take the love seat, Jeremy and Bonnie take the seat next to us, and Caroline and Tyler, cuddle on the couch.

"So, we all are here because we all have this mysterious black rose branding on our shoulders, or in my case, neck," I tell them all, stating rather than asking. They all nod. "Okay, so if I am correct, the girls have this brand on their left shoulder, and the guys have it on their right." Once again they nod. "Now, do we know _anything _at all about where they came from? Jeremy, what about Dena? Did she say anything about them?" I ask him and we all turn to look at him. He nods.

"She said that her and this guy were searching for these people with a black rose brand on their body. She also said that it means that we are a part of this ancient coven called the Rose Coven. I, naturally, told her that we all have one on us, but you are the only one with one on the back of your neck," he says, looking directly at me. "Yours also should have thorns on the stem," he says and I feel Damon move my hair out of the way.

"Yours has thorns on it," Damon says and I swallow.

"Did she say what it meant?" I ask and Jeremy shook his head.

"She didn't know, but she was going to look in some book to find out. What does this mean, Ali?" He asks and I sigh.

"A long time ago, there was a notorious coven, The Rose Coven to be exact, and it was filled with some of the most powerful witches, vampires, werewolves, half-breeds, hybrids, and select humans ever known. It was called The Rose Coven because each member was branded with a black rose. The members of the coven played a key role in everything that happened. If a rogue vamp was making a scene, no matter how small, the coven would go in and check it out. And if they sensed anything amiss, they would take care of it. They helped the humans who needed it, and they watched over the other side. The Rose Coven was a prestigious group, and only a select few were chosen. Obviously, for whatever reasons, we have been both blessed and cursed to bear the mark of The Rose Coven.

So, now it is our duty to essentially help people. I don't know how the hell we are to do that, but I do know that if we all bear the mark…Than there is something heady and dangerous coming our way. The Gods don't just let anyone be in The Rose Coven. Most people have to be physically branded with the rose, unless chosen by the Gods. What has happened to us was no accident, you guys," I tell them, looking each one in the eyes. "It's kind of like the shapeshifters in Forks, Washington. Their magic doesn't change the kids on the reservation into giant wolves unless there is a need, like vampires. Vampires trigger the curse, and blessing, of turning into a shifter. The same thing is true here, about The Rose Coven. People aren't branded suddenly with the mark unless there is a need to be, like if danger is headed our way.

And I think it has something to deal with Dena coming here as well," I tell them. "I want you all to be on your guard when she arrives; don't get cozy with her and have a conversation with her. Especially not you, Jeremy. When you see her, I want you to pretend like you don't know who she is personally, or that you have a strange brand. And don't worry, Bonnie and I will take care of the charm to shield us from her powers as well…"

"But, won't she recognize you?" Caroline asks and I shake my head. "Why not?" I sigh, standing up.

"She won't recognize me because of this," I tell her, pulling out a small vial from my pocket. I pull out the dropper and drop three drops into my mouth. Instantly, I start to change, my hair and complexion changing. Instead of my usual black and red locks and pale skin, I now have blonde hair with black tips and a tan complexion. "See?" I ask them and they all have their jaws dropped. "And to change back, all I have to do is this," I say, grabbing a little silver tin from my other pocket and pulling out a small gray square. I place it on my tongue and wait for it to dissolve, swallowing it. In a flash, I am back to my normal self.

"That is seriously _cool_!" Tyler says in a total guy call. I roll my eyes, sitting back down.

"Like I said, she won't recognize me. But, it will only be her and Jair that can't see me for me. Everyone else will see me as they always have. And, if you wouldn't mind Bonnie," I say, looking at her, "we should probably get started on those charms. I will come up with a paste that we can use to cover up the brands and that will shield the magic in them. Okay?" They all nod and then Kat gasps.

"Ohmigod!" She squeals, looking down at my hand. "Did you…Are you…?" Her eyes are dancing with excitement and I nod, smiling. She screams happily, and pulls me up for a hug. Caroline and Bonnie quickly understand and hug me as well. I laugh.

"Well, thanks guys," I tell them, glancing back at Damon who gazes at me, love in his eyes.

"So, when's the whole event?" I look at Tyler and see his eyes dancing with the idea of a party.

"Tyler, you and Caroline can help with the afterparty," I tell them and they smile. "Bonnie, Stefan, and Kat can help with decorations and such," they smile, "and Jeremy, Damon, and I will work out the actual ceremony. How's that?" I ask and everyone nods. "Okay, now I have had a rough day so, we will reconvene tomorrow, K?" I ask and they nod in agreement.

I wait until everyone leaves to go back to where Damon is sitting. His eyes light up when he sees me approaching and my heart does flip flops. I hold out my hand to him, which he takes, and lead him to our room. When we are standing beside the bed, I kiss him softly.

When our kiss deepens, I keep it soft. We remove each piece of clothing slowly, and when I lay him on the bed, I take my time, leaving not one part of his body untouched.

When we finally come together, we make love softly and tenderly which heightens the sensations. And when we both climax, it sends us both into Oblivion…

**~3_3~**

It's been a few days since we found out we have the marks. Jeremy found out that Dena should be arriving in a few weeks, so we have time to perfect our spells. He also found out that he is a link between the dead and the living, which I kinda figured. So, now our group has three vampires, a werewolf, a medium, a hybrid, a witch and a warlock, and a half-vamp half-witch **(find out why later)**.

Damon and I are caught on either a Christmas or a Halloween wedding. Both have high spiritual energy in the air, which would only make the ceremony more romantic. After our wedding, Damon has somewhere special he wants to take us for our honeymoon. I still can't believe that he wants to marry me. But then again, we aren't getting any younger, but neither are we getting older.

I found out about a couple years ago that when I turned 18, my body was still that of a 17 year old. So, whilst my mind ages, my body stays forever at 17. How cool is that? Anyways, so we did some more research and it turns out that, even though I have human in me, I am immortal. But, if I die, I am reincarnated! So, I have no worries about death really. So, now we are just trying to live each day like it is our last because we only live once. Might as well experience it fully.

There's talk of a school dance in a couple of months, fun fun. It's a Halloween theme, which is just epic. Damon says we should go as Dracula and Mina, whose love is still undying, almost 200 years later. Bonnie and Jeremy are going to go as some old witch couple whose names I have forgotten. Kat and Stefan are going as characters from some stupid book series, _Twilight_ something or other. And Tyler and Caroline are going as the couple from _An American Werewolf_, which had us all dying it was so stupid and wrong. It should be fun…Note the edge of sarcasm there.

The only new thing: when I wake up each morning, I feel whole. There's Damon, my rock, Bonnie, my partner-in-crime, Caroline, my Sensei, Kat, my sister, Tyler, my brother and impulsive bodyguard, Jeremy, my little brother and drug addict, and then Stefan, my soon-to-be brother-in-law and bodyguard. My heart still hurts over what Dena did to me, but I know she meant well. And although we will never be the way we used to, I will still be able to talk to her as an acquaintance…nothing more. Maybe one day we could become friends again, but never will we be sisters. I have what I need and, obviously, so does she.

Sighing, I roll over and look at Damon, my future husband. In sleep, his mouth has dropped into a slight 'O' which is absolutely adorable. I resist the urge to drag my hands down his chest. Instead, I let my eyes wander down his sculpted body, down to where the blanket is covering his leans hips and manhood. A quiver of desire flushes through me and I shake my head in awe. I still cannot believe that this _God_ is all mine. My phone starts to vibrate and I jump up to get it, seeing that I have a text.

I click it open, not recognizing the number.

_Happiness lasts only so long, my child. Soon you will see the error or your ways…_

My brow furrows as I read the text, wondering who would have the gall to send it. Shaking my head, I turn the screen off and toss it back onto the settee in our room, walking back over to where Damon still sleeps. I creep under the covers, running my fingertips rub across his cool flesh, and taking his softened member in my hands. Instantly, I feel him go rock solid and I pull on him gently. A growl escapes Damon before he pulls me up and kisses me.

Our kiss escalates but we calm it down, not needing to consummate our love every five minutes **(teehee, tricked ya huh?)**. Damon pulls away and looks down at me, his breathing shaky. I stroke his face adoringly, gazing into his blue depths. I feel a pang of sadness as I recall Shane's blue eyes, although Damon's are far bluer.

"I know you miss him and it hurts sometimes to look at me," Damon whispers and I give him a sad look.

"It's not that, Damon," I tell him, kissing him softly. "Yes I miss him, and yes your eyes remind me of him, but I know the difference between you and my brother. I love _you_, Damon…It took him 13 years to tell me he loved me, and that was when he was about to die. If I never would have found out my family's secret, I wouldn't be here. I can't regret it, Damon, because it led me to you." We look at each other for wordless moments before his lips are crushing mine, and I taste the salt of his tears in my mouth.

Our kisses continue, and this time, there's no holding back.

**~3_3~**

Brushing my hair out, I pull out the vial with the drops in it. Grimacing, I put three drops in my mouth. Closing my eyes, I feel myself change into the new me. When I open my eyes, I see the blonde and black hair with the tan complexion and realize that this is it. Taking in a deep breath, I walk over to the closet and pull out dark wash, hipster jeans, a deep red tank top, and my black Converse. I take off Damon's shirt and reach in the drawer for a bra and undies. I pull out a black and red lace bra and thong set and put it on, grabbing my jeans and throwing them on as well.

When I'm fully dressed, I put on some black eyeliner and some lip gloss, spritzing myself with some vanilla perfume. I look in the mirror and sigh, knowing that this is as ready as I will ever be. A pair of arms wrap around me and I jump. I look up into the eyes of Damon and smile sadly.

"You can wait until tomorrow," he says, rubbing my shoulders affectionately. "You don't have to go today."

"Damon, if I don't go today, than I never will. I'll just find excuses _not _to go. I have to face her sooner or later…" My words die off as he presses his lips against mine.

"You'll be fine," he whispers to me before releasing me once more. I smile at him and hug him before leaving with Stefan to head to school.

When we arrive, the school is already buzzing with the news of new students. I sigh, knowing that today is going to be a long day. We meet up with Kat, Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, and Tyler and walk into the building. Amazingly, I have classes with all of them, each period, so it will be easier to keep watch. I sit on edge in every class, waiting for her arrival.

Then, in 5th Period, the door opens and a earthy scent reaches my nose. I breathe it in, knowing who it is without looking up. When I do look up, I try to breathe normally at the sight before me. I watch as she gets a book from the teacher and as she goes and sits down in an empty desk, worry, anxiety, and annoyance dancing through her aura. I snort and shake my head. I feel her eyes on me, but I don't look over.

When the period ends, I'm up out of my seat before everyone else, stalking out of the room.

By the end of the day, I want to tear something apart. It seems that not only is she in my 5th period, but she is also in every period after that. And as I make my way to Stefan's car, I see her and some guy get into another car. I shake my head, knowing two things:

One, Dena is back. And two…Things will _never _be the same again. And I know that this is the beginning of the end…

**Yayyyness I'm done : )) … Soooo, did we like? Say yes… You did? Good : )) … Soo, That Was Chapter 4 Of **The Beginning of Never ***hearts* … I Really Hoped You Guys Liked It And I Hope That We Get Some Reviews Goin On : / … Sooo, Stay Tuned For Chapter 5 When Things Get Steamy and Awkward & As Always, Vampirified : )) .. Adios ! **

**XOXO  
>xXxhurting-insidexXx<strong>


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